Sizemore dives into 1st experience as skipper

This story was originally published on Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024.

CHICAGO -- Grady Sizemore was sleeping on the morning of Aug. 8, following the White Sox charter flight back from Oakland the night before, when he received a call from general manager Chris Getz.

Getz was making a change at manager, dismissing Pedro Grifol, and he wanted the team’s Major League coach to take over. The challenge would not be an easy one for Sizemore, who was a three-time All-Star as a player with Cleveland.

The White Sox had a 28-89 record, having ended a 21-game losing streak two games earlier. Garrett Crochet, who was one of the most dominant starting pitchers in baseball during the season’s first half, was on a pitch and innings limit following the All-Star break. And the team moved six veterans at the Trade Deadline in the nascent stages of this latest rebuild.

A little more than three weeks later, Sizemore has a 3-19 managerial mark and an 11-game losing streak. That dream opportunity presented when he awoke and answered the phone hasn't gone perfectly.

But Sizemore wasn’t going to be defined by the team's record when he first took over -- and he still won’t, as he explained during a 15-minute one-on-one interview with MLB.com prior to Sunday’s game.

“Again, like I said, I don’t care. I really don’t care,” Sizemore said. “The only guys that are going to define me are the ones in that clubhouse and the ones in this coaching room. I don’t care about anyone else’s opinion or what it might look like from the outside.

“I set out when I came in here to make an impact and try to earn respect of my colleagues, the other coaches and the players. That’s my thought process. I won’t look at it any different moving forward next year or whatever role I’m in. It’s more, how can I be of service to them? How can I help make an impact and be a positive influence on the team and on my coaches?”

White Sox players say there has been a positive change under Sizemore, and people around the team believe the same.

Sizemore sensed morale was down in what had been an exceptionally good clubhouse since Spring Training. Those same players were having a hard time staying positive amid the mounting losses. It’s an understandable concept, even for hard-working professionals.

“We all wanted the same thing,” Sizemore said. “We are putting the work in and wanting it, but it wasn’t working. It wasn’t meshing. It got to a point where we couldn’t have fun anymore.”

A team edge has returned, in Sizemore’s estimation. Victories become the biggest morale boost or attitude enhancer, and the White Sox have a 4-37 mark in the second half, 52 losses after leading in a game and a Major League-worst 42 losses after scoring first.

Over his 10-year career, Sizemore played for one playoff team and two 90-loss squads in Cleveland when he was healthy. But even as a part of a disappointing team, he didn’t go home at the end of the year obsessing about the record.

“Either you make the playoffs or you don’t. So this won’t stick with me, it won’t stick with them,” Sizemore said. “We’ll be salty about how the season went as a whole, but we aren’t going to sit there and stare at the actual number. You are either winning and getting into the postseason or you are not.

“Not every year is going to be a winning season and sometimes you have to endure tough ones -- or really tough ones, like this one. But that makes you stronger. It’s going to be that much better when we come back and turn this thing around, when these guys can reflect on how far they’ve come from that tough season.”

Will Sizemore remain as the White Sox manager when that time arrives? He focuses on nothing but the present team, but he also quickly picked up that managerial vibe.

“Oh yeah. It’s addicting. I think I got a taste of it. I’m hooked and I don’t want to let it go, that’s for sure,” a smiling Sizemore said. “I am having fun with this.

“It’s been great. I love just everything that comes with it and trying to represent these guys as best as possible. I hope that at the end of this, I at least force consideration out of whoever is making the final decisions.”