MLB Network's Face of MLB Fan Vote: Just who is This Guy with the Glasses?

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If you are a big baseball fan or even just a causal baseball fan you probably watch MLB Network (MLBN) from time to time if not, like me, multiple times per day. If you have watched MLBN in the last month then you are probably wondering, "who is that guy with the glasses?" I don't blame you, he is on the Oakland Athletics who, less face it, no matter how good they are just don't get a lot of press. Just look at Josh Donaldson's snub from last season's All-Star Game

I have to pause here because I am sure you are probably wondering, "Who the heck is Josh Donaldson?" Well, he is the All-Star caliber, finished fourth in the MVP voting in 2013 and very dedicated third baseman for the Oakland Athletics. But this article is not about the Oakland's Bringer of Rain.

Again, where am I going with this right? How in the world is this all still related to that guy with the glasses, right? I'm just trying to show you how little press the A's get each year except talking revolving around their "old stadium' and "small fan base."

Each year MLB Network holds a fan decided competition online. A "face" of each Major League Baseball organization is chosen and they then compete go head to head against each other in a bracket style playoff.

(Image courtesy of Jamey Van Dyke @PerfectGameGear)

This year the Face of the Oakland Athletics as voted on by the fans is, second baseman, Eric Sogard. He's a nice guy who quietly does his job and does it well. Until now was only known for making pitcher Matt Garza a little too mad for knowing how to bunt properly and for as, previously mentioned, wearing glasses. Sogard is one of very few, if any, major league players who wear their glasses on the field. Stephen Vogt, Oakland's catcher, said of Sogard,

“I think he’s what the A’s are all about, he’s under-the-radar and very good, the epitome of the Oakland ‘As.

Over the past year Sogard and his glasses have gotten the attention of the Oakland fans. The A's, who do have a somewhat smaller fan base than say the New York Yankees, have quite a mighty one. Oakland fans have been called by many the loudest fans in baseball. Now they are trying to make themselves nationally heard in MLBN's Face of the MLB competition.

Sogard as everyone's favorite professor Dr. Indiana Jones (Image courtesy of Omar G @Omar01)

Sogard is a fan favorite because everyone loves a guy with glasses and a lot of hustle. His nicknames include The Professor and Harry Potter (I once heard someone yell, "Expelliamus," in a game where Sogard turned a double play). His other monikers, often used as hashtags to identify him on Twitter, are NerdPower and RallySpecs. At one point his glasses even had their own Twitter account.

Since being voted as "The Face," as his teammates now call him, Sogard surpassed the Chicago Cubs' first baseman Anthony Rizzo and Colorado Rockies' fan favorite, shortstop Troy Tulowitzki in the first and second rounds of the bracket. Even more surprising was that he beat out Tulowitzki by a whopping 68% of the fan votes. Sogard was of course very humble on the subject of his new celebrity saying,

“Obviously, it started as a joke more than anything, but the fans are starting to grab a hold of it and run with it. Obviously, my baseball credentials don’t match up to Tulowitzki, but it’s great to see the power of the Oakland fans when they come together.”

For More On This Story Visit Sports Unbiased - Your Alternative Source For Sports

Arizona Fall League Championship!

For those of you who don't know the Arizona Fall League is a show case of the of the most promising prospects from each Major League Baseball team. Each team is allowed to send seven of their best and brightest prospects to play in the AFL which is composed of six teams: the Mesa Solar Sox, the Glendale Desert Dogs, the Surprise Saguaros, the Scottsdale Scorpions, the Salt River Rafters and the Peoria Javelinas. Divided into Eastern (Mesa, Salt River and Scottsdale) and Western (Surprise, Glendale and Peoria) Divisions, the six teams, each made up of five MLB teams working collectively, play 30 games during the months of October and November culminating with the AFLChampionship Game. Today the league leading  Eastern Division Mesa Solar Sox (19-11) take on the Western Division Surprise Saguaros (18-12) for the AFL Title!

Here you see the Mesa Solar Sox including A's prospects Seth Frankoff, a right handed reliever and Oakland's number one prospect short stop Addison Russell, who is leading off in the game today! (Photo courtesy of Jessica Fyfe)

Read the rest of the article along with more information on the AFL is available on Sports Unbiased, your site for all latest sports news, polls and predictions! 

New SU Article! Yasiel Puig's Superfractor Rookie Card Reportedly Worth $25,000

Shortly after Bowman released their 2013 Bowman Chrome series, a listing on EBay announced to the world what the biggest pull of the collection would be, a Yasiel Puig Prospect Autographs Superfractor card numbered 1 of 1. Listed on Ebay at a mere $25, 000 the card didn’t immediately sell but 13 bids were placed before the listing was pulled. Later it  was found to have been purchased by South Bay Baseball Cards. 

It has since been reported that South Bay Baseball Cards intends to repackage and include the card in their Super Box product line and the Puig card is predicted to be the most coveted card in South Bay Baseball Cards’ upcoming 2013 “Super Box Rookie and Phenoms Baseball,” collection that is slated for release on Oct. 23 of this year. 

This limited edition buyback product will center rookie cards of phenoms throughout baseball history from players like Joe DiMaggio and Hank Aaron to guys like Manny Machado and Bryce Harper and of course one lucky Super Box will contain the lusted after Yasiel Puig card!  

What makes a Superfractor card so special? Superfractors are Chrome Mini cards that are considered by collectors to be the cream of the crop of all rookie cards. Each player’s card is the only one of its kind numbered on the back 1/1 and are shiny and embellished on the front. In the past Superfractor cards for Stephen Stasburg and Bryce Harper in 2010 and Clayton Kershaw in 2006 have commanded anywhere between seventeen and twenty one thousand dollars. Already publicly priced at $25,000 there is no knowing how high the price on Yasiel Puig’s Superfractor Rookie Card will go but it is already clear that it will be well into the 5 figure range. There is no doubt that this card ranks as the number pull of 2013 and will be one of the most highly priced cards in history.

This article can also be found at http://sportsunbiased.com/mlb/18260/mlb-yasiel-puig-2013-superfractor-rookie-card-reportedly-worth-25000/

SportsUnbiased.com

So recently I was recruited to write about baseball for the up and coming website SportsUnbiased.com. I am very flattered, nervous and VERY EXCITED about an opportunity to get my name out there as a legitimate writer! And having structure and someone to look up to (like my editors) and be accountable too will help because obviously I have trouble getting my blogs done! Tons of ideas but when it comes right down to it they never get finished and published! So this is the sort of gig I have been waiting for and it came to me! Here is a link to the first piece I contributed to for the site! Hope y'all enjoy it! It's not baseball - but football and while I don't know as much about football as baseball, I was able to take my knowledge along with a bit of research and contribute to the article:

http://sportsunbiased.com/nfl/13500/nfl-top-rbs-of-all-time/