By Shaylee Souza, SDA Media Relations Student Assistant
Look around the stands at Phoenix Municipal Stadium during a baseball game and you’ll see scores of young boys and girls dreaming. Not dreaming in the sleeping sense, but rather of being on the mound, in the infield dirt or on the outfield grass instead of in the stands. Dreaming of throwing that perfect game or driving in that game-winning run, of hoisting the College World Series trophy for Arizona State University.
Rewind 20 years to Packard Stadium and you’d see a young Andre Ethier and Eric Sogard dreaming of the same things. Both were homegrown talents, intent on wearing the maroon and gold, but unsure of the route they needed to take.
“I grew up here in Phoenix, I grew up in downtown,” Ethier said. “My whole goal during my early life was to be a Sun Devil.”
Despite the fact that the two men went to high school just 15 miles apart, Sogard and Ethier’s road to ASU were anything but the same. One thing was clear, however: The path to achieving their dreams would start with hard work, both on and off the field.
Undrafted out of high school, Sogard earned himself both athletic and academic scholarships to attend ASU. Putting the student before the athlete, he understood the importance of education and admits he chose to major in Kinesiology as a back-up plan in case his baseball career didn’t work out.
“I was able to get an academic scholarship, which eventually helped me to get to ASU,” Sogard said. “There’s no doubt I wouldn’t be where I am today if I hadn’t done well in my studies.”
Although he played in 20 games his freshman year, Sogard burst onto the scene his sophomore year as he showed skills in not only the batter’s box, but versatility on the field. Primarily a second baseman, Sogard also served as an outfielder for the Sun Devils and authored several highlight reel catches throughout the season. In 2007, Sogard blossomed into a five-tool player as he hit .400 with 11 home runs and stole 18 bases en route to Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year honors. Sogard’s growth, athletically and academically, led to a second-round pick by the San Diego Padres in the 2007 Major League Baseball draft.
“It was a dream come true to play for the Devils,” Sogard said. “It was a dream that I growing up, watching [Dustin] Pedroia and [Jeff] Larish go at it. It’s somewhere I always wanted to play and I always thought ASU was one of the best programs in the country.”
Also undrafted out of high school, Ethier’s joined the Devils, but his dream almost fell short when he was cut from the team prior to the start of the season his freshman year. He transferred to Chandler-Gilbert Community College, discouraged but more determined than ever. Ethier learned to try his hardest during times of adversity, and it didn’t take him long to establish himself as one of the elite junior college players in Arizona.
Therefore it was no surprise when he soon found his way back to ASU for his sophomore season.
This same determination that brought him back to ASU again manifested itself on January 31, 2002 as Ethier drove in four runs against Oregon State in his Sun Devil debut. Little did he know it at the time, but it was a moment that would set the stage for an ASU journey that, 13 years later, culminated with his number being placed on the prestigious Wall of Honor at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
“My whole goal during my early life was to be a Sun Devil,” Ethier said. “The dream was almost shot down along the way but I found out a way to come back and play here so it means a lot to me to be a Sun Devil.”
Fast-forward to November 2015, and Ethier and Sogard are back among Sun Devils as part of the ASU Baseball Experience, the program’s annual alumni weekend. The duo shares laughs and stories with old teammates amid golf swings and drinks, and it’s clear the passion that was with them from their time watching ASU baseball games at Packard still burns deep inside them.
Their dreams came true.