Competitive fire led Sizemore back to baseball, and now White Sox

Here's an interesting detail about the White Sox managerial change.

Outgoing dugout boss Pedro Grifol's first job as a professional manager was leading the Everett (Wash.) AquaSox from 2003-05.

Interim manager Grady Sizemore is an Everett native. During his years at Cascade High School from 1996-2000, Sizemore played some varsity home games on the same field used by the AquaSox.

“My high school coach was actually helping him out one season,” Sizemore said Saturday. “It is kind of weird. He managed where I played high school.”

There are more interesting facts and contradictions that make Sizemore both an unlikely and intriguing choice to serve as White Sox interim manager. Could he do the job well enough to be hired permanently? Well yes, probably. But time will tell.

Question No. 1: Every story written about Sizemore, who spent most of his career in Cleveland, when he was a player mentions how he was uncomfortable in the spotlight and shied away from attention.

Meeting with reporters after his debut on Friday, then before Saturday's rematch with the Cubs, Sizemore seemed very comfortable. He did a great job. So what's the story?

“I'm trying to embrace it. I really am trying to embrace it,” he said of media duties. “I want to represent this organization and Jerry (Reinsdorf) and the fans and do my best to give them the kind of baseball they deserve. I really want to put on a good show for them and bring the energy every night.

“I'm not great in front of a camera, I don't always say the right thing. But I'm trying to embrace the role and be a good spokesman and a good leader for this team and this franchise and this city.”

Question No. 2: A prolific rusher and defensive back, Sizemore was planning to play football for the University of Washington. When the Montreal Expos offered a $2 million signing bonus, he chose baseball, but ended up with a football-style injury report. He had seven surgeries and missed two full baseball seasons along the way. So how does he feel today?

“Now that I'm not playing, I feel fine,” Sizemore said. “If I had to go out there and run and cut and be explosive, I'd probably be in a lot of pain. But I feel good now. I still feel the injuries, I feel the surgeries. They're there, but they're not bad.

“I love football. That was the plan, to go to school and play. Injuries are just part of all sports. I think I played the game so hard, eventually it's going to happen. For me, they just kind of snowballed together. That's sports, that's what happens.”

Question No. 3: When his playing days ended in 2015, Sizemore took a job in the Cleveland front office, but soon left to focus on his young and growing family. He now has three kids, age 9, 6 and 5, but famously returned to work with the Diamondbacks last year for $15 an hour. What drew him back into baseball?

“That urge to compete just doesn't go away,” he said. “I got my foot in the door and then the more I stuck my foot in, the more I enjoyed just working with guys. I think I just really wanted to make an impact for guys because I love the game and I missed it, and I wanted to find a way to channel not being able to compete anymore. I'm just trying to find that path.”

Question No. 4: When he joined the White Sox this year, Sizemore's title was “major league coach.” What was his job description?

“I tried to just help out any way I could,” he said. “I was obviously helping out with the outfield and baserunning, but also trying to help Marcus (Thames) on the hitting side. I was trying to learn too. I was around Pedro and those guys, trying to learn anything I could and be an extra helping hand anywhere that I was needed.”

Question No. 5: How does someone who never expected to be a manager handle Day 1 on the job?

“When you're playing, you're just worried about yourself,” Sizemore said. “(Friday against the Cubs), you're trying to worry about everybody, you're trying to think a couple innings ahead. It was a lot more stressful.

“I feel like I was a lot more passionate than I probably ever was as a player. I think I just got caught up in the moment and caught up with the crowd and just the way the guys were playing. It felt like a playoff game. I was screaming a bunch and I was probably more into it than I should have been, but I just was going with the emotion.”

No doubt, the pressure to succeed is low, with the White Sox carrying a 28-90 record into Saturday's action. A little passion or emotion won't hurt.

“I really hope we have more nights like that,” Sizemore said. “I told those guys after the game, 'If we play like that for the next two months, it's going to a fun end.'”