Grady Sizemore: Difference between revisions

Grady Sizemore
Grady Sizemore
Cleveland Indians – No. 24
	Center fielder
	Bats: Left Throws: Left
debut
	July 21, 2004, for the Cleveland Indians
Career statistics ; (through September 30, 2007)
Batting average	.283
Home runs	78
Runs batted in	259
Teams
	Cleveland Indians (2004–present);

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Revision as of 22:08, 18 October 2007

Grady Sizemore III (born August 2, 1982, in Seattle, Washington) is a Major League Baseball center fielder who currently plays for the Cleveland Indians. A fan favorite in Cleveland, Sizemore was acquired from the Montreal Expos in 2002 along with Brandon Phillips, Cliff Lee, and Lee Stevens in exchange for Bartolo Colón and Tim Drew.

Early career

Sizemore graduated from Cascade High School in Everett, Washington, in 2000. A noted high school star in football, basketball, and baseball, Sizemore signed a letter of intent to play football and baseball at the University of Washington. At the time of his high school graduation, Sizemore was Cascade's all-time leader in rushing yards with 3,081 yards and interceptions with 16.

The college year was not to be, however, as the Expos selected Sizemore in the third round of the 2000 draft. The team offered him a $2 million signing bonus to lure him away from college. Sizemore signed and almost immediately began his rapid ascent to the big leagues. Sizemore was called a superstar by White Sox Manager Ozzie Guillen and has earned the nickname "Superman".^[1]

2005

In 2005 Sizemore spent his first full season in the majors. He quickly established himself as one of baseball's up and coming stars in center field. He was supposed to be in Triple A, but Juan González's injury in the first game of the season secured his spot in the major leagues. He also joined Roberto Alomar as the only players in Cleveland Indians history to record 20 doubles, 10 triples, 20 HR and 20 SB in the same season. Sizemore's best month in 2005 came in June when he hit .377 (40-106) with 4 HR and 16 RBI in 25 games. He finished the season batting .289 with 22 home runs, 81 RBI, and 22 SB. Before the start of the 2006 season, Sizemore signed a 6-year contract with the Indians worth $23.45 million with a club option for 2012.

2006

In 2006, Sizemore had perhaps his best major league season to date. He was selected to his first All-Star Game as a reserve outfielder. In the All-Star game he had two at bats and went 0-2. In addition to all of his offense, he also was a very fine center fielder making some spectacular plays in center, left-center, and right-center field. Overall in 2006 Sizemore batted .290 with 28 home runs and 76 RBI. He played in all 162 games the Indians played. He scored 134 runs, had 190 hits, 52 doubles, 11 triples and 22 steals. His OBP was .375, and his SLG was .533.

In addition, he became one of only two players in MLB history to have at least 50 doubles, 10 triples, 25 home runs, and 20 stolen bases in a single season (2006).^[2]

2007 Season

Sizemore opened the 2007 season on a roll, hitting 4 home runs in his first 6 games. He hit a three-run inside-the-park home run on April 27, 2007.

The May 14, 2007 issue of Sports Illustrated magazine featured Sizemore on the cover. In the cover article, Indians' general manager Mark Shapiro calls Sizemore "without a doubt one of the greatest players of our generation".^[1]

On July 1, 2007, he was named to his second All-Star team.

In 2007, he had 25 home runs, and was 33-10 in stolen base attempts. He was one of only 6 batters in the AL to have at least 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases, along with Alex Rodriguez, Gary Sheffield, Ian Kinsler, B.J. Upton, and Curtis Granderson.

Sizemore ended the 2007 season continuing a streak of consecutive games played that is currently at 358. Juan Pierre is the active leader with 434. [1]

Personal

Sizemore resides in Mill Creek, Washington; Tempe, Arizona; and Cleveland, Ohio. He is not married.

Career Statistics and Accomplishments

Stats
Season	Team	League	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	AVG
2004	Cleveland	MLB	43	138	15	34	6	2	4	24	14	34	2	0	.333	.406	.246
2005	Cleveland	MLB	158	640	111	185	37	11	22	81	52	132	22	10	.348	.484	.289
2006	Cleveland	MLB	162	655	134	190	53	11	28	76	78	153	22	6	.375	.533	.290
2007	Cleveland	MLB	162	628	118	174	34	5	24	78	101	155	33	10	.390	.462	.277
Major League Totals			525	2061	378	583	130	29	78	259	245	474	79	26	.369	.488	.283

Grand Slam(s): 2
All-Star Selections: 2 (2006, 2007)

Stats as of September 30th, 2007

References

^ ^a ^b Verducci, Tom (May 8, 2007). "One Sizemore Fits All". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2007-09-22.
^ Neyer, Rob (February 14, 2007). "Sizemore emerging as a legitimate star". ESPN Insider. ESPN. Retrieved 2007-07-24.

External links

MLB.com profile
Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference
Template:Espn mlb
Minor and major league statistics
Grady Sizemore cover story: YOUNG MONEY Magazine

[SI_article-1] Verducci, Tom (May 8, 2007). "One Sizemore Fits All". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2007-09-22.

[2] Neyer, Rob (February 14, 2007). "Sizemore emerging as a legitimate star". ESPN Insider. ESPN. Retrieved 2007-07-24.

[1]

[2]

@@ Line 68: / Line 68: @@
 In 2007, he had 25 home runs, and was 33-10 in stolen base attempts.  He was one of only 6 batters in the AL to have at least 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases, along with [[Alex Rodriguez]], [[Gary Sheffield]], [[Ian Kinsler]], [[B.J. Upton]], and [[Curtis Granderson]].
+Sizemore ended the 2007 season continuing a streak of consecutive games played that is currently at 358. Juan Pierre is the active leader with 434. [http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070925&content_id=2229778&vkey=news_cle&fext=.jsp&c_id=cle]
 ==Personal==