Like It Or Not, Everybody Loves Grady - source unknown

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — The cult of Grady Sizemore is growing by the day, and there's nothing he can do to stop it.

Not when White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen proclaims you the best player in the division, and the key to Cleveland's surprising rise to contention last year.

Not when you put together the kind of season, in your first full year in the majors, that reeks of impending superstardom — a .289 average, 111 runs, 22 homers, 11 triples, 37 doubles, 81 runs batted in (while batting mostly leadoff) and 22 steals.

And, especially, not when you have the natural charisma of a matinee idol, the unforced ability to make people like you.

"He does that most wonderful thing an athlete can do: He smiles when he's playing," said Bob DiBiaso, Cleveland's vice president of public relations. "People gravitate toward those kinds of athletes. It reminds me of Omar [Vizquel] — the immediate love affair."

Never mind that Sizemore would much rather kick back at his parents' home in Mill Creek (as he did this winter) than shmooze with the glitterati. Never mind that he despises talking about himself, and endures rather than embraces interviews.

Sizemore — who was slated for the minor leagues last year until Juan Gonzalez went down with an injury late in spring training — has "it," on and off the field.

And the trappings of "it" — fame, fortune, loss of privacy, increased scrutiny — are coming fast. At the tender age of 23, Sizemore has not reached LeBronian stature in Cleveland, but he's getting there.

Today is the Sports Illustrated photo shoot. Any day now, the deal could be finalized that puts his image a few hundred thousand soft-drink cans sold in the Cleveland area. The Sizemore bobblehead is out. The infomercial for the workout equipment is filmed.

And that doesn't even get into his expanding (and wildly enthusiastic) female fan base — "Grady's Ladies," they call themselves. Last year, a pink t-shirt was marketed with the slogan, "Mrs. Sizemore," and they sold out in two hours (did we mention he's single and available?). Another batch will hit the stores this year.

''Our market research this past year showed us that the female demographic grew about 200 percent for us last year, and we attribute a lot of that to Mr. Sizemore," said DiBiaso.

And what does Mr. Sizemore think of all that? He doesn't, if he can help it.

''That's on the outskirts," he said Monday at Indians camp. "I don't focus on that. I try to conduct myself professionally, respect the game, respect my teammates and go from there. I don't get too caught up with all the other stuff."

Which is part of what the Indians absolutely love about their center fielder. According to his agent, Joe Urbon, Sizemore has turned down "tens of thousands of dollars" in endorsement opportunities, because they would have taken him out of his preparation routine.

"He plays with a great deal of confidence, but he's humble in his approach to the game," manager Eric Wedge said. "He plays with strength and presence on the field."

Strength and presence means having the guts to steal home, as he did last August in a win over Toronto, prompting teammate Travis Hafner — at the plate at the time with a two-strike count — to say, "If I had swung and hit Grady in the face, I would have had every woman in America mad at me."

It also means consistency in his work habits and preparation that places him far beyond his years — "the same approach, day in and day out, good day, bad day, cold day, warm day, team winning, team losing," said GM Mark Shapiro. "Those characteristics in a young person are extremely rare."

And it means diving into bases, crashing into walls and running out every grounder like a latter-day Pete Rose. Sizemore plays baseball with a football mentality, fitting for the former Cascade High School grid standout who was recruited by Rick Neuheisel to play quarterback for the University of Washington before accepting a $2 million signing bonus from the Montreal Expos in 2000.

"He's just a good dude that plays the game right," said teammate Aaron Boone. "Grady just has a great way about him. First off, he's a great player, and he's going to be a great player in this league for a long time. He'll be one of those guys that doesn't really change, other than he'll be able to afford a few more things."

It wasn't all positive last year for Sizemore, who is finalizing the purchase of a home in Cleveland to go with the one in Arizona (while choosing to stay in his room at his parents' home when he visits the Seattle area).

The Indians were within a game and a half of the White Sox after a win on Sept. 24, but the next day in Kansas City, Sizemore lost a fly ball in the sun that led to a devastating 5-4 loss.

That started a finishing nosedive in which the Indians went 1-6 over the final week. Sizemore went 5 for 32 (.156) in that span with no RBI.

He says that he'll learn from that and come back hungrier this year.

"We have to take that experience from last year and get better and try to take it one step further," he said.

Grady's Ladies, and the rest of Cleveland, can hardly wait.