Sizemore Arrives With Indians

07/21/2004 1:56 PM ET
By Justice B. Hill / MLB.com

CLEVELAND -- Grady Sizemore got a call into manager Marty Brown's office Monday in Buffalo. Brown needed to talk to Sizemore, who had no idea what Brown had to tell him.

Sizemore had tuned out the rumblings about his coming to the big leagues. All he had on his mind was playing well for the Bisons, and he was doing that.

But Brown told him the Indians had called him up to the Majors.

"I was shocked more than anything else," said Sizemore as he stood in the Indians' dugout in Jacobs Field. "I thought he was joking around."

No, Brown wasn't joking. The Indians had decided to call up Sizemore, the crown jewel in their farm system. They had been hinting recently that he might be on his way here, but team officials were cautious about putting a timetable on his arrival.

They wanted to make sure he was ready and could help.

"We felt like we brought him up now to make us a better team," manager Eric Wedge said. "He's part of our future."

That future looks as if it's now for the Indians. The Tribe is four games out of first place in the AL Central and have made a sustained run at staying in contention. Wedge looked at Sizemore as someone whose talent might help the Tribe in the weeks ahead.

"I'm gonna probably use him in center field," Wedge said. "But he can play left field."

Wedge said Sizemore exemplified what the Indians want in their young players, and he thought the 21-year-old Sizemore would fit into the clubhouse well.

"He has an old-school approach," Wedge said. "He goes out there and plays. No frills, he just gets it done."

In its 2004 report on Indians prospects, Baseball Prospectus referred to the 21-year-old Sizemore, a highly recruited football prospect in high school, as a "diamond in the rough."

It also wrote this about Sizemore: "Talented, and the latest great hope for the closet pigskin fans who scout. Unlike so many of the others of that ilk, Sizemore does not have a great arm. He's a natural athlete, but he's not an effortless flycatcher in center -- they're hoping he grows into that role. What Sizemore does really well is make contact with a quick stroke; some wonder how much more power he'll have when or it he improves his ability to kill pitchers."

The organization acquired Sizemore, left-hander Cliff Lee and infielder Brandon Phillips from the Expos in a blockbuster deal for right-hander Bartolo Colon in 2002. Lee and Phillips have both reached the Majors, although Phillips is back with Triple-A Buffalo.

At the Bisons, Sizemore got off to a slow start. But he's been hitting well the past two months, pushing his average from the .228 to .292. He has seven homers and 49 RBIs, as well as 12 stolen bases.

In talking about Sizemore's callup, general manager Mark Shapiro said the move will help the young outfielder transition smoothly into the Major League life. While Sizemore wasn't in the Indians' lineup Wednesday night, he's not here to sit, though.

"It's not like he's gonna come up and own the league," Shapiro said. "But he's ready to make the jump."

That's been the consensus of people who have watched him play. He will give the Indians more depth, more speed and talent than outfielder Mark Little, the man whose roster spot Sizemore took.

The Tribe designated Little for assignment. The team has 10 days to trade, release or outright him to the minors.

As for Sizemore, he's trying to soak up the Major League experience. He was expecting the decision, but he welcomed it just the same. It was something Sizemore had dreamed about.

"But that's not really what I focused on," he said. "Like I said, I didn't really focus on what was went on one above me or below me. I just focused on where I was at."