Mariners Notebook: Sizemore likes current fit - Seattle Post-Intelligencer April 23, 2005

But ex-UW football recruit can't help wondering what if

By DAN RALEY
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Grady Sizemore was in center field last night, ninth in the Cleveland Indians batting order.

Had baseball scouts not spotted something late that intrigued them, the Seattle native likely would be at Husky Stadium today, taking quarterback snaps as a fifth-year senior in the spring game, maybe holding down a position that has been a 17-month headache for everyone involved.

Instead, Sizemore returned home for the first time as a big league player, turning up with the Indians at Safeco Field with nearly 200 at-bats under his belt over parts of two seasons. He set aside eight tickets for family and friends, and spent the night at his parents' Mill Creek home.

The Indians like him, with manager Eric Wedge describing the versatile athlete formerly of Cascade High School as "an outstanding young ballplayer," as someone bringing a welcome old-school approach to the game.

Which has to bring a huge sigh from Huskies football fans, who watched three different players used as starting quarterbacks last fall, and four lately trying to win the job under a new coaching staff.

Sizemore, a mobile 6-foot-2, 210-pound left-hander, might have solved the problem immediately.

"I think I kind of screwed up Washington's plans in a big way," he said. "It's been rough. I feel bad."

Sizemore, 22, signed a national letter of intent with the Huskies in 2000, intending to honor it. Things changed when the Expos drafted him in the third round, catching him completely off guard.

Two years later, he was traded to the Indians in a six-player deal that centered around pitcher Bartolo Colon getting shipped to Montreal. He reached the majors last July.

"I was pretty sure of myself that I was going to go to school and play football," Sizemore said. "I was kind of surprised that I got drafted in the first place. I didn't expect it. It was kind of a shock."

Sizemore, who maintains an offseason home in Phoenix, says baseball was a good choice for him, that the game suits him. Yet he admits to keeping close tabs on the UW football team, to suffering through the 1-10 season in 2004.

"I follow the Huskies a lot," he said. "I'm a big football fan."

There are plenty of people in town who wish his involvement was more than that.

Said Sizemore, "It is kind of weird to think about it."