On January 16, 2026, we did a Friday Funday piece on Mickey Lolich, and we saw he passed away last week (February 4). That makes us both sad and a little wary about writing another one of these, although we hardly feel we have some influence over the universe’s plan(s) for us all. So, we will say godspeed to Lolich today and move forward with another look at a different MLB player from the past: Grady Sizemore, a three-time All Star, by age 25, now gone and forgotten.

Injuries suck—in any phase of anyone’s life, let alone in a professional athlete’s existence, as they need to be healthy, for the most part, to thrive and survive in their lucrative worlds. Sizemore posted 24.6 WAR combined in his age-22 through age-25 seasons before succumbing to injuries and all but disappearing from MLB in his prime. We awarded him our 2005 AL MVP nod and considered him again in 2006 when he topped the league in overall WAR for position players. So, yeah.

To repeat, injuries suck.

He was just 22 in 2005, and the sky seemed the limit for him. After putting up 13.2 WAR in those two MVP-caliber seasons above, he dipped a little bit, earning “only” 11.4 WAR in 2007-2008 put together. Yet after making his third-consecutive All-Star team in 2008, Sizemore just suffered a string of injuries that ended up robbing him of his rightful fate and legacy: he played in just 210 games combined in 2009-2011 before missing both the 2012 and 2013 seasons, fully.

By the time he returned to the majors in 2014-2015, he was a wispy shadow of his former self, struggling to post 0.0 WAR in those two seasons in 209 games overall. It’s a sad story to review as we remember just how good he was 20 years ago—before his official prime even was supposed to begin. He also posted a .908 OPS in 11 playoff games with the Cleveland franchise in 2007, prior to his injury decline. Sadly, it seems typical for the city to get such a raw deal with pro sports.

However, let’s start at the beginning: Sizemore was drafted by the Montréal Expos in 2000 and eventually dealt to Cleveland in the Bartolo Colon trade in 2002—along with Cliff Lee, Brandon Phillips, and Lee Stevens. Sizemore broke into the majors with 43 games played in 2004 at age 21, posting a 97 OPS+ mark across 159 plate appearances and burning his rookie year that way. There was some promise in the stat line, yet we don’t think anyone knew what was next.

He announced his talented presence with authority in 2005, which included a career-best 1.5 dWAR playing centerfield. Sizemore eventually won two Gold Gloves (2007-2008) when he probably didn’t deserve them, but he should have won the vote in 2005, so it all evens out in the end, as it usually does. Sizemore hit 22 home runs and stole 22 bases during the regular season, showing he was a five-tool player, really, and at age 22, it looked MLB had a huge superstar in its hands.

But we digress: he followed up 2005 with an equally stellar 2006, and Cleveland had a franchise star on their hands they would have been happy to lock up for a dozen years at that point. His 2007 salary was just $917K, and the team had him under control through 2011. Yet it all went downhill after 2008: he hurt his elbow in Spring 2009 and had a mediocre, for him, season of just 2.2 WAR, and it really would be the last productive MLB year of his career. It all went south and fast.

A knee injury cost him most of the 2010 campaign, and more knee troubles—plus a hernia issue—hampered his 2011 opportunities. He played in just 104 games during those two seasons, combined, and after back surgery and more knee complications cost him the entire 2012 year, the Cleveland organization cut ties with him prematurely. His career seemed over as no team would sign him for the following season, despite the fact he was only looking at his age-30 year then.

The Boston Red Sox signed him to start in centerfield for 2014 Opening Day, but even the defending World Series champions couldn’t revive his lost career in Fenway—they waived him by mid June after he hit just .216 in 52 games. The Philadelphia Phillies took a chance on him, getting a .253 average out of him in 60 games, and seeing enough to sign him to a $2M deal for the 2015 season. However, a .584 OPS in 39 games caused the Phillies to release him in June 2015. Ouch.

At age 32, he had one last chance with the Tampa Bay Rays, where he actually played decently for 58 games over the remainder of the 2015 season, posting 0.4 WAR and a .746 OPS. Yet the franchise did not offer him a new contract at the end of the year, and Sizemore never played in the majors again. We’re surprised no other team took a chance on him after that moderately decent showing in Tampa, as a lot worse players have gotten laughable contracts in the same situations.

Alas, baseball is fickle as we know. Overall, he probably made well in excess of $30M in his career, and we hope he’s made it last. Sizemore always seemed like a good guy and one very undeserving of such physical frailty. He’s probably unknown to a new generation of baseball fans, but he once shown very brightly in the MLB sky. No, he’s not in Cooperstown and never will be, but true lovers of this sport remember him for his brightness that burnt out too soon.