Directory:Grady Sizemore

2008-04-27T20:04:51Z

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{{Infobox MLB player
| name = Grady Sizemore
| image = Sizemore signing.JPG
| width = 200
| caption =
| team = Cleveland Indians
| number = 24
| position = Center fielder
| birthdate = {{birth date and age|1982|8|2}}
| birthplace = {{city-state|Seattle|Washington}}
| bats = Left
| throws = Left
| debutdate = July 5
| debutyear = 2005
| debutteam = Cleveland Indians
| statyear = 2007
| stat1label = [[Batting average]]
| stat1value = .283
| stat2label = [[Home run]]s
| stat2value = 78
| stat3label = [[Run batted in|Runs batted in]]
| stat3value = 259
| stat4label = [[Stolen base]]s
| stat4value = 79
| teams = <nowiki></nowiki>
*[[Cleveland Indians]] ({{by|2004}}–present)
| awards = <nowiki></nowiki>
*2x [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star]] selection ({{by|2006}}, {{by|2007}})
*[[Rawlings Gold Glove Award|Gold Glove Award]] winner ({{by|2007}})
*Led [[American League|AL]] in [[run (baseball)|runs]] in {{by|2006}}
*Led [[American League|AL]] in [[double (baseball)|doubles]] in {{by|2006}}
}}

'''Grady Sizemore III''' (born [[August 2]], [[1982]] in [[Seattle, Washington|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|Everett]], [[Washington]], in 2000. A 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 been given the nickname "Superman".<ref name=SI_article>{{cite web
|url = http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/tom_verducci/05/08/sizemore0514/index.html
|title = One Sizemore Fits All
|accessdate = 2007-09-22
|last = Verducci
|first = Tom
|authorlink = Tom Verducci
|date = May 8, 2007
|publisher = [[Sports Illustrated]]
}}</ref>

On June 27, 2002 Sizemore was part of a 6 player trade that sent him from the Montreal Expos (currently the Washington Nationals) to the Cleveland Indians. Sizemore was dealt with [[Cliff Lee]], [[Brandon Phillips]], and [[Lee Stevens]] for [[Bartolo Colon]] and [[Tim Drew]].

==Professional baseball career==
===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 [[Minor league baseball#Today's Farm System|Triple A]], but [[Juan González (baseball player)|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. In the summer of 2005, a group of five women started a fan club for Grady, calling themselves "Grady's Ladies." They now have over 300 "Ladies." They are often seen at games at Progressive Field sitting in the bleachers.

===2006===
In 2006, Sizemore had perhaps his best major league season to date. He was selected to his first [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star Game]] as a reserve [[outfielder]]. In the All-Star game he had two [[at bat]]s 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 [[Batting average|batted]] .290 with 28 [[home run]]s and 76 [[Run batted in|RBI]]. He played in all 162 games the [[Cleveland Indians|Indians]] played. He scored 134 [[Run (baseball)|runs]], had 190 [[Hit (baseball)|hits]], 53 [[Double (baseball)|doubles]], 11 [[Triple (baseball)|triples]] and 22 [[Stolen base|steals]]. His [[On base percentage|OBP]] was .375, and his [[Slugging percentage|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).<ref>{{cite web
| last = Neyer
| first = Rob
| title = Sizemore emerging as a legitimate star
| work = ESPN Insider
| pages =
| publisher = [[ESPN]]
| date = February 14, 2007
| url = http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/hotstove06/columns/story?columnist=neyer_rob&id=2764383
| accessdate = 2007-07-24
}}</ref>

===2007 season===
Sizemore opened the [[2007 in baseball|2007]] season on a roll, hitting 4 [[home run]]s 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 (baseball)|general manager]] [[Mark Shapiro]] calls Sizemore "without a doubt one of the greatest players of our generation".<ref name=SI_article/>

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. With Juan Pierre not playing on opening day 2008, Sizemore has the longest current streak in baseball.

On November 6, it was announced that Sizemore had earned his first [[Gold Glove]], after he posted a .995 fielding percentage with only 2 errors the whole year and displaying his reputation for great range in center field and acrobatic catches.

===2008 season===
Sizemore's streak of 382 games played in a row ended on April 27 in a 1-0 loss to the Yankees.

==Personal==
Sizemore resides in [[Scottsdale, Arizona]], [[Cleveland, Ohio|Cleveland]], [[Ohio]], and [[Mill Creek, Washington|Mill Creek]], [[Washington]]. He is currently single.

Sizemore is the son of Donna and Grady Sizemore II. Donna is white, while Grady II is black. Grady has a younger brother named Corey.
<ref>Verducci, Tom. (2007, May 8). "[http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/tom_verducci/05/08/sizemore0514/2.html One Sizemore Fits All]", ''[[SI.com]]''</ref>

==Career statistics and accomplishments==
{| BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="3" CELLSPACING="0" ID="Table3"
|- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! ALIGN="center" colspan="100" | Stats
|- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! ALIGN="center" | Season
! ALIGN="center" | Team
! ALIGN="center" | League
! ALIGN="center" | G
! ALIGN="center" | AB
! ALIGN="center" | R
! ALIGN="center" | H
! ALIGN="center" | 2B
! ALIGN="center" | 3B
! ALIGN="center" | HR
! ALIGN="center" | RBI
! ALIGN="center" | BB
! ALIGN="center" | SO
! ALIGN="center" | SB
! ALIGN="center" | CS
! ALIGN="center" | OBP
! ALIGN="center" | SLG
! ALIGN="center" | AVG
|- ALIGN="center"
| ALIGN="center" | 2004
| ALIGN="center" | Cleveland
| ALIGN="center" | MLB
| ALIGN="center" | 43
| ALIGN="center" | 138
| ALIGN="center" | 15
| ALIGN="center" | 34
| ALIGN="center" | 6
| ALIGN="center" | 2
| ALIGN="center" | 4
| ALIGN="center" | 24
| ALIGN="center" | 14
| ALIGN="center" | 34
| ALIGN="center" | 2
| ALIGN="center" | 0
| ALIGN="center" | .333
| ALIGN="center" | .406
| ALIGN="center" | .246
|- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| ALIGN="center" | 2005
| ALIGN="center" | Cleveland
| ALIGN="center" | MLB
| ALIGN="center" | 158
| ALIGN="center" | 640
| ALIGN="center" | 111
| ALIGN="center" | 185
| ALIGN="center" | 37
| ALIGN="center" | 11
| ALIGN="center" | 22
| ALIGN="center" | 81
| ALIGN="center" | 52
| ALIGN="center" | 132
| ALIGN="center" | 22
| ALIGN="center" | 10
| ALIGN="center" | .348
| ALIGN="center" | .484
| ALIGN="center" | .289
|- ALIGN="center"
| ALIGN="center" | 2006
| ALIGN="center" | Cleveland
| ALIGN="center" | MLB
| ALIGN="center" | 162
| ALIGN="center" | 655
| ALIGN="center" | 134
| ALIGN="center" | 190
| ALIGN="center" | 53
| ALIGN="center" | 11
| ALIGN="center" | 28
| ALIGN="center" | 76
| ALIGN="center" | 78
| ALIGN="center" | 153
| ALIGN="center" | 22
| ALIGN="center" | 6
| ALIGN="center" | .375
| ALIGN="center" | .533
| ALIGN="center" | .290
|- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| ALIGN="center" | 2007
| ALIGN="center" | Cleveland
| ALIGN="center" | MLB
| ALIGN="center" | 162
| ALIGN="center" | 628
| ALIGN="center" | 118
| ALIGN="center" | 174
| ALIGN="center" | 34
| ALIGN="center" | 5
| ALIGN="center" | 24
| ALIGN="center" | 78
| ALIGN="center" | 101
| ALIGN="center" | 155
| ALIGN="center" | 33
| ALIGN="center" | 10
| ALIGN="center" | .390
| ALIGN="center" | .462
| ALIGN="center" | .277
|- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3" | Major League Totals
| ALIGN="center" | '''525'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''2061'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''378'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''583'''
| ALIGN="center" | '''130'''
! ALIGN="center" | 29
! ALIGN="center" | 78
! ALIGN="center" | 259
! ALIGN="center" | 245
! ALIGN="center" | 474
! ALIGN="center" | 79
! ALIGN="center" | 26
! ALIGN="center" | .369
! ALIGN="center" | .488
! ALIGN="center" | .283
|}
'''Grand Slam(s):''' 2<br>

''Stats as of [[September 30th]], [[2007]]

==See also==
* [[List of Major League Baseball runs scored champions]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball doubles champions]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{baseballstats |mlb=429713 |espn=5882 |br=s/sizemgr01 |cube=S/Grady-Sizemore}}
*[http://www.youngmoney.com/entertainment/personalities/070316 Grady Sizemore cover story: YOUNG MONEY Magazine]

{{Indians}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sizemore, Grady}}
[[Category:1982 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Major league center fielders]]
[[Category:Cleveland Indians players]]
[[Category:American League All-Stars]]
[[Category:Major league players from Washington]]
[[Category:African American baseball players]]
[[Category:Gold Glove Award winners]]
[[Category:All-Star Futures Game players]]
[[Category:Kinston Indians players]]
[[Category:Akron Aeros players]]
[[Category:Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players]]
[[Category:People from Seattle, Washington]]

[[fr:Grady Sizemore]]
[[ja:グレイディ・サイズモア]]
[[simple:Grady Sizemore]]

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Directory:Grady Sizemore