Those who take part in discussing the Cleveland Indians on Twitter will often see trends geared toward them.
Plenty of these individuals saw the name of Grady Sizemore trending Friday afternoon.
Was he making another comeback?
Unfortunately, no.
That ship has sailed.
It was all because of a fun question posed by one user.
You can pick ONE athlete ever to have an injury-free career (from beginning to end), who are you choosing?
— Jake Montgomery (@JakeM0NTGOMERY) April 15, 2021
Sizemore is an easy answer to the above question for any Indians fan.
Grady Sizemore’s Amazing Rise in Cleveland
Sizemore was the guy in Cleveland as the Indians looked to rebuild following the 2001 season.
He joined the organization in 2002 as part of the Bartolo Colon deal that also sent Cliff Lee to Cleveland.
His MLB debut came in 2004 and while it was in limited action, Sizemore looked like the real deal.
That faith was confirmed in 2005 when Sizemore posted a 6.6 WAR in 158 games.
The center fielder followed that up with three All-Star Game appearances from 2006-2008 and two Gold Gloves in that span as well.
Sizemore appeared to be the future in center field and was finally a worthy replacement for Kenny Lofton.
The Indians also appeared to have a true core with Sizemore and Travis Hafner leading the way.
The plan was a good one, but injuries derailed what could have been a legendary career in Cleveland for the exciting outfielder.
Grady Sizemore’s Unfortunate Decline
Grady Sizemore is trending and thus: pic.twitter.com/hMIje3XQTF
— Mr. Furious, #1 “Young Rock” microblogger (@Andrew__3000) April 16, 2021
2009 was the beginning of the end for Sizemore’s career.
He initially missed time with a groin injury and also had surgery on his elbow near the end of the season.
Sizemore did manage to play in 106 games, so the sky wasn’t falling just yet.
He was then limited to 33 games in 2010 and 71 in 2011.
There was an attempted comeback in 2012, but it never came to be.
Thus, the young man who had not even turned 30 years old yet had to think about just getting healthy enough to even have a shot at playing again.
This was a huge blow to the team and was just sad to see happen.
Sizemore could have been one of the all-time greats in Cleveland.
Instead, he stands out as a major “what if?” after a truly astonishing four-year run.
Sizemore did return to the league in 2014 with the Boston Red Sox and played through 2015, having stints with the Philadelphia Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays as well.
The Stats to Remember in Cleveland
Sizemore was a legitimate superstar from 2005-2008.
His lowest single-season WAR in that span was 5.5 during the 2007 season.
Sizemore was also available.
He played in at least 157 games every season during his impressive four years and had 53 doubles in 2006.
He also had a 30-30 year in 2008 with 39 doubles and 33 home runs.
Sizemore had his own fan club and his name gives fans a fond memory of that Indians squad that nearly made it to the World Series in 2007.
The fact he wasn’t around for the next era of winning baseball was truly a shame.
Can you think of any other Indians players who you wish could have had an injury-free career?
Leave a Reply