Jim Ingraham: Grady Sizemore deserves better than having to manage the White Sox

The list of great Cleveland center fielders is impressive, going all the way back to Shoeless Joe Jackson, Tris Speaker, Earl Averill and Larry Doby — all hall of famers. It doesn't stop there. Actually, it does stop there, but it shouldn't. Unfortunately, the only ones who don't believe Kenny Lofton should be in the hall of fame are the voters, a.k.a the baseball writers. They not only refused to vote Lofton into the hall of fame, but inexplicably voted him off the hall of fame ballot after just one year. Lofton, who spent 10 years in Cleveland and 10 years with 10 other teams, might be the most athletic player in Cleveland franchise history. If it's not him, it's the center fielder who followed him. Grady Sizemore. Both were breathtakingly gifted in the art of playing ball. Lofton's 452 stolen bases for Cleveland are 173 more than any other player in franchise history. His career total of 622 ranks 15th in major league history. Ironically, Lofton was finishing his career in Cleveland just as Sizemore was beginning his. Earlier this week, Sizemore began a new career when he was appointed — or is it "coerced?" — into being the interim manager of the flabbergastingly inept Chicago White Sox, who are nearly 30 games behind fourth-place Detroit in the AL Central. Most of us had no idea Sizemore even worked for the White Sox. Now, all of a sudden, he is their manager? Cleveland fans would prefer to remember Sizemore when he was a totally-unknown minor leaguer in the Montreal Expos' system who became part of one of the great trades in Cleveland history. On June 27, 2002, Cleveland general manager Mark Shapiro traded Bartolo Colon and pitcher Tim Drew to the Expos for pitcher Cliff Lee (a pitcher for the Jupiter Hammerheads in the Florida State League), Brandon Phillips (a second baseman with the Brevard County Manatees in the Florida State League) and veteran first baseman Lee Stevens. Three years later, Colon, then with the Angels, won the American League Cy Young Award. Five years later, Lee won the American League Cy Young Award. Phillips, whom the Guardians gave up on, was traded to Cincinnati, where he won four Gold Gloves, had three All-Star appearances, two MVP finishes (13th and 22nd) and one Silver Slugger Award. The other player involved in that blockbuster trade was an unknown minor league center fielder named Sizemore, who eventually reached the big leagues with Cleveland and evolved into Kenny Lofton 2.0 with more power. Following the trade, Sizemore galloped up Cleveland's minor league ladder, reached the big leagues in 2004 and became an instant sensation and fan favorite. Remember "Grady's Ladies?" The kid had everything: charisma, speed, power, instincts. He seemed destined to win at least one Most Valuable Player award, maybe more. He could run down flyballs in the gaps, make leaping catches against the wall, steal bases on demand and whatever else you needed, he could do that, too. Sizemore's yearly averages in his peak years of 2005-2008: a .281 batting average, .372 on-base percentage, .868 OPS, 81 RBI, 27 home runs, 41 doubles, 116 runs scored and 160 games played. At times, like Lofton, he could be a one-man offense. In 2006, when he led the American League with a 6.7 WAR, Sizemore also led the league in runs (134) and doubles (53) while slugging 28 home runs, stealing 22 bases and posting a .907 OPS. In 2008, he scored 101 runs, clubbed 39 doubles and 33 home runs, stole 38 bases and slugged .502 with an .876 OPS. In franchise season history, Sizemore ranks fifth in runs (134 in 2006), fourth in doubles (53 in 2006) and third in extra-base hits (92 in 2006), trailing only Albert Belle (103 in 1995) and Hal Trosky (96 in 1936) in the latter. Sizemore won Gold Gloves in 2007 and 2008 and a Silver Slugger award in 2008. Then the injuries started. From 2005-08, Sizemore played an average of 160 games. In the last eight years of his career, he played 100 or more games just twice. He sat out two consecutive seasons, 2012 and 2013, due to injuries. When he returned, he was a shadow of his former self. After averaging 29 stolen bases per year from 2005-08, he stole just 18 bases in his last three years. He became a free agent after 2013 and was a baseball vagabond in his final seasons, in which he bounced from Boston to Philadelphia to Tampa Bay. It was over by the end of 2015. He was 32 years old, one year older than Jose Ramirez is now. Sizemore's incandescent career ended as many do: quietly and without fanfare. Now he gets to manage maybe the worst baseball team ever. That doesn't seem right. Contact Jim Ingraham at jingraham4@gmail.com.