Comparing the 2015 Athletics with 1989
By Tony Frye
Second base to second base
Sep 1, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics second baseman Eric Sogard (28) celebrates with shortstop Jed Lowrie (8) ahead of Seattle Mariners Stefen Romero (7) during the ninth inning at O.co Coliseum. The Oakland Athletics defeated the Seattle Mariners 6-1. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
This is where it gets hairy. First off, the world series had a couple of second base players with Tony Phillips and Mike Gallego trading the spot and, secondly, with the uncertainty of who will play there next year. The world series had Tony Phillips start the world series at second and, since he’s still under contract, we’ll assume that Eric Sogard will be the man in 2015.
Tony Phillips appeared in 143 games in 1989 (at seven different positions) and had .262 batting average with 4 home runs. In 117 games, Eric Sogard posted a .223 average with 1 home run. Of course, his performance after the all star break was much better than his overall numbers would indicate and his defensive play is very strong so, while you’ll never hear me say that Sogard is the next Phillips (he was one of my favorite players as a kid), if Sogard can replicate his second half numbers at the plate in 2015 and maintain his defensive play, it’ll be exactly what the Athletics need at second base.