Biography courtesy of Wikipedia

Grady Sizemore III was born on August 2, 1982, in Seattle, Washington to Donna and Grady Sizemore Jr. He has one younger brother, Corey and is of mixed heritage, his father being black while his mother is white.

Sizemore graduated from Cascade High School in Everett, Washington, in 2000. A noted high school star in football, basketball, and baseball, Sizemore signed a letter of intent to play football and baseball at the University of Washington. At the time of his high school graduation, Sizemore was Cascade's all-time leader in rushing yards with 3,081 yards and interceptions with 16.

The college year was not to be, however, as the Expos selected Sizemore in the third round of the 2000 draft. The team offered him a $2 million signing bonus to lure him away from college. Sizemore signed and immediately began his rapid ascent toward the big leagues. While still playing at the A level, Sizemore was acquired by the Cleveland Indians from the Montreal Expos in 2002 along with Brandon Phillips, Cliff Lee, and Lee Stevens in exchange for Bartolo Colón and Tim Drew.

Sizemore spent 2002 and 2003 playing for Cleveland's A and AA affiliates Kinston and Akron. In 2003 he helped lead the Akron Aeros to the AA Eastern League championship and also played in the All-Star Futures Game for the US team. He went 2-3 in that game including a 2-run HR. Sizemore was awarded the Larry Doby Throphy as he was named the MVP of the Futures Game.

After spending most of 2004 playing for the Buffalo Bisons, AAA affiliate of the Cleveland Indians, Grady was finally called up to the Big Show in July of that year. He made his Major League debut for the Indians on July 21, 2004. He stayed up in the big leagues for about a month before being sent back down to AAA in August. He then helped the Bisons to the AAA International League championship.

In 2005 Sizemore spent his first full season in the majors. He quickly established himself as one of baseball's up and coming stars in center field. He was supposed to be in Triple A, but Juan González's injury in the first game of the season secured his spot in the major leagues. He also joined Roberto Alomar as the only players in Cleveland Indians history to record 20 doubles, 10 triples, 20 HR and 20 SB in the same season. Sizemore's best month in 2005 came in June when he hit .377 (40-106) with 4 HR and 16 RBI in 25 games. He finished the season batting .289 with 22 home runs, 81 RBI, and 22 SB. Before the start of the 2006 season, Sizemore signed a 6-year contract with the Indians worth $23.45 million with a club option for 2012. Sizemore's contract is the largest ever for a player with less than 2 years service time in Major League Baseball.

In 2006, Sizemore had perhaps his best major league season to date. He was selected to his first All-Star Game as a reserve outfielder. In the All-Star game he had two at bats and went 0-2. In addition to all of his offense, he also was a very fine center fielder making some spectacular plays in center, left-center, and right-center field. Overall in 2006 Sizemore batted .290 with 28 home runs and 78 RBI. He played in all 162 games the Indians played. He scored 134 runs, had 190 hits, 52 doubles, 11 triples and 22 steals. His OBP was .375, and his SLG was .533.

In addition, he became one of only two players in MLB history to have at least 50 doubles, 10 triples, 25 home runs, and 20 stolen bases in a single season (2006).

Sizemore opened the 2007 season on a roll, hitting 4 home runs in his first 6 games. He hit a three-run inside-the-park homerun April 27, 2007.

The May 14, 2007 issue of Sports Illustrated magazine featured Sizemore on the cover. In the cover article, Indians' general manager Mark Shapiro calls Sizemore "without a doubt one of the greatest players of our generation". On July 1, 2007, he was named to his second All-Star team. He had one at bat in the 2007 game and went 0-1.