Why Grady Sizemore isn't great

"He is without a doubt one of the greatest players of our generation."

This is a quote from Cleveland Indians GM Mark Shapiro. It is not about Barry Bonds or Roger Clemens. It's not even remotely close to talking about Alex Rodriguez or Albert Pujols. Nope...he is talking about Grady Sizemore.

Grady Sizemore's Career Numbers are as follows:

Batting Average: .282
Doubles: 102
Triples: 24
Home Runs: 59
RBIs: 196
Stolen Bases: 58
OBP: .361
Slugging %: .491

A generation is generally considered to be a 30 year time frame, and everyone is well acquainted with the definition of great. My question is how can a guy with a .282 career average (never higher than .290 in a seaon), with 59 career home runs and no Gold Gloves be considered in the pantheon of great players in the last 30 years?

The easy answer is our fad driven, over zealous media that is always looking to lay claim to being the first with the news. And Sports Illustrated is jumping on unsubstantiated comments about this 24 year old kid, with less than 400 games of Major League Experience, to mention him in the same breath as Gwynn, Ripken, Griffey, etc.

Sizemore is the classic intangibles guy that produces good, solid, All-Star caliber numbers in the process. For a Red Sox fan, he is the second coming of Johnny Damon (circa three years ago) - when Damon had the knack for going 0-3 and then coming up with a clutch 2-out RBI in the 8th and a diving catch in the 9th to preserve the win. If you compare Damon's numbers in 2004 (.304 Avg, 20 HRs, 123 Runs, 94 RBIs, 19 SBs, .380 OBP) to Sizemore's numbers in 2006 (.290 Avg, 28 HRs, 134 Runs, 76 RBIs, 22 SBs, .375 OBP), the difference between the two is marginal. Does anyone consider Johnny Damon in the debate of greatest players of our generation? Of course not.

I think Grady Sizemore is a terrific player. He is one of the best defensive center fielders in the game today, sets the table offensively similar to Damon (and has a little more power), steals bases, scores a truck loads of runs, and plays with a reckless abandon that every Cleveland Indians fan raves about. I would trade virtually extra Red Sox player in the entire system (with the exception of Josh Beckett and Jonathon Papelbon) to get him on my team. He doesn't showboat, and doesn't seek out the spotlight. He has the potential to be one of the great players of this generation, but c'mon...how can Mark Shapiro really make this claim about current greatness regarding a 24 year old kid with this resume?

Sizemore has earned justifiable credibility with true baseball fans that appreciate the nuances of the game. He does the little things (like Jeter) that don't show up in the box score, like taking the extra base, or beating out the routine grounder for a hit. But his numbers will never justify the tab of "greatness" because this is not defined by the true baseball zealot, but by the casual fan. And as long as players like Pujols and Gay-Rod put up .330, 45 HRs, 130 RBIs, 100 Runs, players like Grady Sizemore will never be considered "great" by this generation's standard.

And this is why Grady Sizemore doesn't stand a chance to reach that pantheon. Before SI ran its May 14, 2007 cover story about Sizemore, loaded with Shapiro's slurp job comments, Sizemore was regarded as a fantastic player with MVP potential at the top of a potent Tribe lineup. Now? He is a household name with the expectation that his numbers on paper compare favorably to Pujols, A-Rod, Ortiz, Ramirez, Suzuki, Jeter, Damon, Bonds, etc. I know all these players are great in their own fashion, but they all produce (with maybe the exception of Jeter) statistical greatness. Nevermind that he has only one legitimate good season under his belt, combined now with the common expectation that he is currently one of the best players of the last 30 years. Oh, by the way, he's hitting .241 through 35 games this season.

Grady Sizemore is one of the bright young starts in Major League Baseball, and Indians fans are lucky to have him. But let's call him what he is - a good Major League ballplayer, with the potential for greatness. In the meantime, somebody throw some water on Mark Shapiro.