Sizemore is humble but set for superstardom

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. -- The standard Grady Sizemore storyline used to be all about unlimited potential, and how good he would eventually be.

No more. Now the Sizemore buzz is about how good he already is. (Hint: Scary good. Maybe not the best all-around player in the game yet, but entering the conversation.)

Potential became reality last year when Sizemore unleashed his coming-out season for the Indians, leading the majors in runs (134) and extra-base hits (92) while leading the American League in doubles (53, third highest in Cleveland franchise history).

He added 28 homers, 11 triples and 22 steals, making him just the second player in history with at least 50 doubles, 10 triples, 20 homers and 20 steals in one season. The other: Hall of Famer Chuck Klein in 1932. ESPN sabermetrician Rob Neyer crunched the numbers and found that Sizemore's career arc most closely resembles Duke Snider -- another Hall of Famer.

And he played in all 162 games despite a reckless approach to the game -- and to outfield walls -- that sometimes makes team officials cringe. And he played a Gold Glove-caliber center field. And he made the All-Star team. And he continued to draw raves for his intensity and work ethic. And he's just 24.

"He's the greatest young player I've ever been associated with," Cleveland manager Eric Wedge gushed in the midst of a Sizemore testimonial that would have made even his parents, Grady and Donna Sizemore, blush.

"He's going to have trials, like any great player or any baseball player. His toughness will separate him."

Speaking of Sizemore's parents back in Mill Creek, Wedge said he wanted to hug them.

"A lot of that is just the way he was brought up. A lot of it is just what's in him. Otherwise someone would have bottled it and given it to everybody."

Wedge's enthusiasm over Sizemore was matched in every corner of the Cleveland clubhouse. Former major-league All-Star Robby Thompson, now an Indians front-office executive, said that whenever he talks to the organization's minor-leaguers, he invariably finds himself using Sizemore as the shining example for the youngsters to emulate.

"He's a special player, a special person," Thompson said. "He approaches the game on and off the field like you would want every one of your guys to."

But now that his limitless potential is in the process of being tapped, there's a new kicker to the Sizemore storyline: The matter of just how big he's going to become, and how quickly.

Not big as in hefty, in the unwelcome Bonds/Sosa/McGwire sense (though Sizemore this winter added some unobtrusive muscle to his long, lean body -- the one that once made him the choice of Rick Neuheisel to be the next Huskies quarterback).

Big as in, baseball's Next Big Thing. Big as in, Derek Jeterish national icon status (if that's possible in a low-key place like Cleveland with a lower-key persona like Sizemore's).

"He's going to be one of those guys that's going to be the face of MLB," said teammate C.C. Sabathia. "He's going to be huge all over, once everyone catches on and really realizes how good he is."

Those who see him every day, those who know him best, say it's inevitable. The dawning of the age of Sizemore is nearly upon us, and nothing can stop it -- not even Sizemore's legendary aversion to shining the spotlight on himself.

"He's not going to be able to control it," observed Mark Shapiro, the Cleveland general manager who before last season signed Sizemore to a six-year, $23.45 million contract extension that should make him the biggest bargain in baseball for its duration.

"I see him as having a chance to be one of the great players of his generation. It's only a matter of time. This guy is 24 years old, and he had an historic year last year. Obviously, he's charismatic as well. At some point in his career, he's going to be mentioned with all the elite players of the game."

Cleveland long ago embraced him. Female fans simply gush over the eligible bachelor, wearing "Mrs. Sizemore" T-shirts to Jacobs Field. A fan club called Grady's Ladies Sisterhood extols his virtues, but that took a gruesome turn last June when the club's 21-year-old co-founder was shot to death by her boyfriend in an apparent murder-suicide.

Chris Nickless, a 20-year-old Ohio State senior who has started a Sizemore Web site at www.gradysizemore.net, believes that the outfielder represents, along with LeBron James, the symbol of Cleveland's sporting renaissance.

"Everyone loves Grady around here, young and old," Nickless said in a phone interview. "You talk to your grandparents, and they give you the typical, 'That's how the game was played in my day.' It sounds hokey, but I want to conduct myself in the business world the same way he plays baseball. He's always striving to be better."

Indeed, Sizemore deflects every compliment by pointing out that he still has a long way to go.

His undeniable charisma is based on looks and ability, not the force of his public persona, though agent Joe Urbon says that in the right setting, Sizemore can be effusive. There won't be many Sizemore quotes in this story, because although polite and accommodating, his comments lean heavily to the generic.

"I'll come out of my shell every once in a while, but I'm never going to be mistaken for talking a lot and being real emotional," he said. "It's one of those things. I've just got to give it time and break down the walls a little bit."

Urbon sees signs of just that, though he has become resigned to turning down most of the burgeoning endorsement and appearance offers because Sizemore doesn't want the distraction. The agent, however, believes that Sizemore will make concessions to his growing fame.

"He's finally wrapping his arms around the fact that it isn't a dream," Urbon said. "This is reality. People do dig him, and it's OK to expand beyond what's going on on the field."

Just to find out what Sizemore will bring to the field this year makes me yearn for opening day.

Larry Stone: 206-464-3146 or lstone@seattletimes.com