Indians Center Fielder A Big Hit With The Ladies - Morning Journal

04/28/2006
JENNIFER BRACKEN , Morning Journal Writer

LORAIN -- The Grady Sizemore craze will come to a head this weekend.
When the Cleveland Indians host the Texas Rangers on Saturday, all fans in attendance will receive a Grady Sizemore bobblehead doll, honoring the player who has arguably become the face of the team.

But there's one demographic that seems particularly enthused about the bubbly leadoff hitter.

The Grady Sizemore phenomenon has brought females to the Jake in droves, more than team officials say they have seen in a long time.

''Cleveland has been above the curve in female attendance with a 55 to 45 ratio of men to women,'' said Bob DiBiasio, vice president of public relations for the Indians. ''That certainly has something to do with Grady, but baseball is a professional sport that deals across the board. From age 9 to 95, both men and women.''

While Sizemore is reticent to talk about his popularity with the ladies (he declined comment for this story), his teammates say it's become something of a joke in the clubhouse.

''I think everyone is a little envious of it, but it's a lot of fun for the whole team,'' said Indians third baseman Aaron Boone. ''It gives us something to make fun of Grady about.''

Sizemore, who is single, commands 13 percent of the team's player-related merchandising, DiBiasio said. Currently, the team sells 41 different items specific to Sizemore. The most recent addition to the collection is a 36-inch bobblehead doll that sells for $275. DiBiasio said the bobbleheads -- which are much larger than those being handed out this weekend -- have already sold out.

Sizemore's face and name have popped up all over the Cleveland area and will debut on 16 million Pepsi cans around Northeast and Central Ohio in July.

''These things take time, although with Grady it happened at a quicker pace,'' DiBiasio said of the team's marketing of Sizemore. ''He's a tremendous athlete and good looking. That's a heck of a combination.''

And if you don't believe him, just ask the Grady's Ladies Sisterhood.

The dimple-faced 23-year-old has captured the hearts of girls and women from all over the country, many of whom combined to form the group near the end of last season. The Sisterhood, which now has 93 members, got to know each other online while visiting a message board on the team's Web site. They will have their first official outing at the bobblehead game on Saturday as 20 of the ladies will wear custom-made Sizemore shirts and sit together in the center field bleachers -- directly behind their man.

Michelle Mielecki and Tiffany Pearson, two of the founders of the club, say their devotion to the Tribe goes much deeper than their love of Sizemore.

''I've been a longtime Indians fan and have gone with my dad to games through the years,'' said Mielecki, 20, who is a student at the University of Toledo. ''I really like the number 24 and my dad told me (Sizemore) was going to be a star.''

Five women, dubbed the ''First Ladies,'' began a Web site of their own last summer.

''It started out as, 'Oh, he's cute,' then we realized he really is a good baseball player,'' said Pearson, 23, who lives in Florida.

Pearson admitted she owns a ''Mrs. Sizemore'' shirt, while Mielecki said she asked for a Sizemore jersey for her 21st birthday.

DiBiasio said the ''Mrs. Sizemore'' shirts are one of the newer merchandising opportunities they took advantage of.

''We always go through Grady and his agent before anything is put out there,'' he said. ''We even asked the real 'Mrs. Sizemore' (his mother) if it was OK to make the shirts. She was one of the first people to buy one.''

Boone said Sizemore has dealt with his rise to fame admirably, especially since it's made him a target for his teammates' gags.

''I've seen these women actually tremble when Grady is near them, when he's signing autographs for them,'' he said. ''When we do our stretching and running before each game, one time last year someone set up these velvet ropes around where Grady was stretching. We were like, 'Don't touch him! He's Grady!' ... in a kidding way. We have fun with it, and he handles it great.''

In March, Sizemore signed a six-year, $23.45 million contract with the Indians that only increased his popularity with the fans. But it's not the personal acclaim or popularity that drives Sizemore, DiBiasio said.

''He's not one to talk about himself or put himself above the team,'' he said. ''He doesn't love a lot of attention, but he's OK with what we're doing.''

jbracken@morningjournal.com