New White Sox manager Grady Sizemore never expected to be in this position. When he stopped playing in 2015, he didn’t know what he wanted to do next.
“I just knew I wanted to make an impact on players’ lives, on their game, and just try to be a resource and help out any way that I could,” Sizemore said.
That started in 2017, as a special advisor in Cleveland's player development department.
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In 2023, after taking time away from the game to focus on his family, Sizemore contacted his former teammate, Josh Barfield, about joining the Arizona Diamondbacks organization, where Barfield served as the director of player development. At the time, no positions were available, so Sizemore accepted a $15-an hour internship with Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen.
When Barfield became the assistant general manager for the White Sox after the season, he recommended Sizemore to Grifol and White Sox GM Chris Getz for a position on the coaching staff.
Now Sizemore is the man tasked with getting the White Sox back on track. Heading into Friday’s game against the Cubs, the team is 28-89, on pace to win just 38 games, which would be the lowest win total since the 1935 Boston Braves. The 124 losses the White Sox are on pace for would be an MLB record.
Sizemore says that focusing on trying to avoid ignominy of that magnitude would be a “waste of time,” however. Instead he’s thinking about a bigger picture.
MLB
“All you can focus on is what you can control. My focus is not on outside factors, or records, or other teams. It’s on the guys. It’s on what I can do to put them in the best possible position to succeed.
“We’re going to try to improve every day and just play baseball the way we know how to play and just do our best.”
Sizemore also isn’t worried about trying to impress the White Sox as they begin their search for a new manager. The team has said they’ll look for candidates from outside the organization, and that would exclude Sizemore.
“I have so much to go through right now. There’s a lot on my plate, and it would be foolish to look past today.”
The White Sox fired Pedro Grifol on Thursday. Grifol led the team to an 89-190 (.319) record in 279 games as the team’s manager.