WORCESTER—Last season was a stock market year for Nick Sogard.
It was up and down, both geographically and statistically, and ended better than it started. He has already put in a lot of time and energy preparing for 2026.
Sogard, a fan favorite since joining the WooSox in 2022, has recently been in the area for a while representing the Red Sox organization. The native Californian has been enjoying the winter pleasures of New England and was at Polar Park Saturday as part of the WooSox Foundation Honors night along with teammate Payton Tolle.
His year began in Worcester and ended in Boston with him batting .333 during the Sox’ playoff series with the Yankees. Sogard has had two stints in the major leagues, looking very much like a big-league player in both.
Although there is still a good chunk of December to navigate, Sogard’s mind is already in 2026 mode.
“As far as physical activities, I typically take a couple of weeks to completely decompress and reset,” he said, “but honestly, I feel like my mind kind of immediately addresses what I have to do, how to go about addressing the areas I have to work on to improve.
“I try to get my mind toward 2026 as quickly as I can, and this off-season I know a couple of things I want to improve on.”
Those tangible things include improving strength and some mechanical issues on the left side of the plate.
One not so tangible issue is Sogard’s history of getting off to a slow start offensively and the reason for it.
Last season his batting average was .132 after a doubleheader on April 23. The longer a season goes the harder it is to dig out of a hole like that. Sogard managed to do it thanks to a lava flow of offense in August.
His average was up to .237 when the month began. It had climbed to .276 by the time he was summoned to Boston on Sept. 3. Sogard hit safely in 20 of 22 games in that stretch and was 34 for 85, a .400 average.
“I’d like to say it’s more of just kind of a coincidence,” is Sogard’s perspective. “Last year was by far the worst start I’ve ever had and I think are a few factors, and I think it’s something that I don’t want to become a developing trait. I’d like to fix that this year.
“At the same time baseball is baseball. You don’t get to control if you get a hit or not. You can hit it right at the shortstop or someone else. I just try to play my game and settle in as quickly as possible.”
Decades ago, players like Sogard got the label “utility”. It was not a complimentary term. The modern definition is “versatile” and for a lot of players it is a trait that provides a ticket to the major leagues.
It has been that ticket for Sogard and he is comfortable with it.
“I think the organization has done a good job with me of introducing this years ago,” he said. “I’ve grown accustomed to it. I might play five positions in five games and that’s fine with me. I might play four positions in one game and that’s fine with me. I feel confident with a glove on anywhere.”
He is a natural shortstop and would not be disappointed if he wound up there on a permanent basis.
“I think if you put me at shortstop every day for a whole season there would be good results,” Sogard said.
His 2025 numbers with the WooSox bear that out. He batted .320 in 41 games at shortstop, .237 in 50 games at other positions.
There is no precise date on the 2025 calendar when New Year’s Day of 2026 arrived for Sogard mentally, but he is definitely well into the future.
“I feel like I’m always looking at how I can improve my career,” he said. “I try to be appreciative of the present but I’m always looking forward to being better than I am now.
“I’m always looking forward to the big leagues, how I can become part of the team, how I can become an every day player.”
Sogard has seen a lot of Polar Park since coming up from Portland in the summer of 2022. He loves the place, but is working to make Fenway be his future park.
Bill Ballou covered the Red Sox for the Worcester Telegram from 1997 through 2018. He has covered pro hockey in Worcester since 1994 and currently does a weekly column for the Worcester Red Sox. Ballou can be reached at vetgoalie@aol.com
