Grady Sizemore: From Diamondbacks intern to White Sox Interim Manager

Grady Sizemore’s career in baseball took an unexpected turn when he went from being a three-time All-Star to an intern for $15 per hour with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Now, after the team fired head coach Pedro Grifol following a 21-game losing streak, Sizemore is the interim manager of the struggling Chicago White Sox.

Sizemore was one of baseball’s biggest stars from 2005 to 2008, winning two Gold Gloves, a Silver Slugger Award, and three selections to the All-Star team. With 134 runs and 53 doubles in 2013, he was the league leader. But a string of injuries wrecked his career, forcing him to retire early in 2015 at the age of thirty-two.

After stepping away for a couple of years to spend time with his family, Sizemore had the urge to get back into the game. He got in touch with Josh Barfield, his old Cleveland teammate who was the Arizona Diamondbacks’ director of player development at the time, in 2023. Sizemore took a low-paying internship with the Diamondbacks even though they had no openings in order to regain his reputation. Sizemore had already moved to the Phoenix area at the time, owning a home in Scottsdale, Arizona.

With the Diamondbacks, Sizemore put in a lot of work, visiting minor-league affiliates and working primarily with outfielders and baserunners at the team’s training complex.

That next step came sooner than expected. When Josh Barfield, was hired as the assistant general manager of the Chicago White Sox in September 2023, he recommended Sizemore for a coaching position on Pedro Grifol’s staff. By November, Sizemore was on the White Sox coaching staff, primarily working with outfielders and helping coach baserunning.

Less than a year later, Sizemore is now the head coach of one of the worst teams in MLB history on an interim basis. It is quite the accomplishment for the former three-time All-Star to go from making $15 per hour as an intern to managing a major league team.