Why Pirates manager Shelton is one of Sizemore’s strongest supporters
PITTSBURGH — In a 2006 ESPN Magazine article, current Pirates manager Derek Shelton offered a description of Grady Sizemore that may never be topped.
“Grady is what every boy in America should grow up to be,” Shelton said 18 years ago, when Sizemore was a rising star in Cleveland. “I wish you could bottle what he has and give it to every guy you draft. Full effort, every time. Old-school. The real deal.”
Before facing the Cubs on Monday at PNC Park, Shelton said he made a private prediction that Sizemore would be the choice if the White Sox decided to make an in-season managerial change.
“Having not watched a White Sox game in a while, I bet they're playing hard,” Shelton said. “I thought he would ultimately, initially, demand the respect of that (locker) room.”
Shelton's assessment is essentially correct, though the White Sox haven't exactly caught fire since naming Sizemore interim manager and firing Pedro Grifol on Aug. 8.
But few people in MLB know Sizemore as well as Shelton, the Gurnee native and Warren Township High School product. When Sizemore first arrived in the big leagues, Shelton was Cleveland's hitting coach and before that worked in the minor-league system. They were promoted to the majors around the same time in 2004-05.
“I love working with Derek,” Sizemore said. “I had him most of my career as a hitting coach. One thing he was, he was very positive. He was always upbeat and he was such a hard worker.”
In that sense Shelton might provide a good template for how Sizemore approaches his time in charge of the White Sox. The Pirates hired Shelton in 2020 as the team embarked on a rebuild and they lost 100 games in his first two full seasons.
But Shelton survived and is still on the job in large part because he's able to keep things loose and relaxed while the young players endure growing pains. That's something Sizemore relates to.
“I probably was so annoying as a hitter because I would want to do so much, grab him on early days and make him throw to me extra, get on the field when we didn't need to, and he never had a negative thing,” Sizemore said. “He never showed on his face that he was frustrated.
“It was just always positive and I loved him for that. I really respect him and I'm happy to see him having success.”
When Sizemore was promoted by the Sox, some who knew him as a player expressed surprise because of a tendency to avoid the spotlight. Now he has to meet with reporters twice every game day.
Shelton suspects Sizemore doesn't relish the media obligations that come with the job (though he's done fine so far), but as mentioned above, Shelton thinks the White Sox made a wise choice.
“The game needs coaches like Grady Sizemore,” Shelton said. “Pull up his baseball-reference, this guy was one of the best players in baseball for like six years and played every day. Whether they continue to let him manage or he coaches, we need guys in the game like that because he's special.”