Grady Sizemore sure seems to be loving his turn as White Sox manager: Could he really be the guy?

It seemed — still does, to be honest — that Chris Getz is dead set on making sure the next manager of the Chicago White Sox comes from outside the organization.

But could Grady Sizemore, who signed on as an ill-defined “major league coach” before the 2024 season began and was elevated to interim manager in the wake of Pedro Grifol’s firing last week, make the general manager think twice?

Sizemore’s not treating his month and a half at the helm of the worst team in baseball as an audition for 2025 and beyond. But the undoubtedly different vibes around the team since he took over — a reflection, perhaps, of a fresh start for a scuffling squad rather than of being free of Grifol — are forcing plenty to ask the question: Could this be Sizemore’s springboard into a permanent position?

[MORE SOX: Who will be the next White Sox manager? Sorry A.J., Ozzie backers, but not them]

Certainly Sizemore is enjoying himself, as evidenced by the constant smiling and “aw, shucks” attitude of his media sessions. He gave a fatigued fan base something to smile about themselves after the White Sox’ surprise blowout win over the Yankees on Monday, coming out for his postgame press conference drenched from the clubhouse celebration, one that featured protein shakes, beer, shaving cream, ketchup, cereal and baby powder raining down on the interim bench boss.

Even in the span of just a few days, from his intro alongside Getz before last weekend’s Crosstown series to the final day of this series with the Yankees, he’s grown visibly more comfortable and more confident in talking about just how much fun he’s having.

“I am having fun,” Sizemore said Tuesday. “(Monday) night was a great example of that, but these last three or four days have been some of my happiest, most fun games in baseball.”

It’s important to remember that line from “Mr. Baseball,” that baseball’s a game and games are supposed to be fun, especially as one disappointing White Sox season after another has brought little positivity to speak of. Sizemore’s joy is appreciated, refreshing.

But of course, as Grifol’s ousting showed, baseball the business rarely cares about such things.

Sizemore can obviously be given an excuse for whatever record these White Sox finish with at the close of this season, even if it’s one with the highest number of losses in modern baseball history. But at the same time, Getz will certainly be looking for a manager who can, you know, win some games.

“I’m trying to get the most out of these guys,” Sizemore said Wednesday. “I want them to play a certain way for the next six, seven weeks and just keep building off what we started here these last three, four games. I want them to walk away from this season, at least these last seven weeks, and just feel good about how we finished and where we’re at as a team.

“Wins are important, too. I’m not going to lie and say they’re not. Obviously, you want to win. It’s kind of like stats. If you’re sitting there focused on getting a hit every night, you’re missing the big picture. You want to have a good approach, a good at-bat. Same with the game. We want to win, but it’s how we play, it’s how it looks and it’s how we feel at the end of the game that also matters. They’re both important, but it’s not strictly just wins and losses, just like it’s not hits and ERA and (pitcher) wins and losses.”

Sizemore keeps reminding that he had no expectation of becoming a manager this year, and who could have? But he also gives off the impression that he’s liking the job a great deal — and that he would like to keep it.

“I’m trying to have fun with it. I don’t know if I’ll ever manage again, so I’m going to manage like it’s the World Series,” Sizemore said Monday. “I don’t really care about anything else. I just care about the guys and having fun and putting them in a position where they’re competing and having fun and playing good baseball.

“Guys are in this career their whole lives, and maybe you never even get an interview or maybe you never get that job. So I don’t know where I’ll be. I didn’t walk in here this year ever thinking this was a possibility.

“Of course I (would like to keep going). But nothing’s guaranteed. So I feel like I’ve got something good and hold onto it right now and play it like it’s my last opportunity.”

The sample size is far too small to make any sweeping judgments, but so far, managing looks good on Sizemore. The players have responded to someone Andrew Vaughn referred to as “of us” when he spoke on the managerial switch last week. They gave a great effort in a 7-6 loss to the Cubs on Sizemore’s first night in charge and celebrated raucously when he got his first win Monday. That’s not nothing. And just as Getz has gotten props for his former-player approach to his general manager job, Sizemore’s biggest plus to his new charges might be his relatively recent history as a major league player.

Getz has made bringing in former players a hallmark of his young tenure at the top of the White Sox’ baseball department. He added Josh Barfield, Brian Bannister and Paul Janish to his front office. He added Marcus Thames, Matt Wise, Drew Butera, Jason Bourgeois and Sizemore in remaking Grifol’s coaching staff last winter.

But there will be other managerial candidates who played the game other than Sizemore, if Sizemore even ends up on Getz’s interview list.

The general manager didn’t reveal too much about the type of person he’s looking for when it comes to making the hire, but he did say he expects that person to come from outside the White Sox, showcasing a desire to move away from the insular hiring practices that his predecessor, Rick Hahn, lamented four years ago. Of course, the White Sox ended up with Tony La Russa then, more of the “White Sox DNA” that Hahn bemoaned as too often being a requirement for the manager’s job on the South Side.

Grifol didn’t have it, of course. Sizemore wasn’t part of the White Sox’ universe prior to this season, but he’d be a hire from within, something that Getz was, too, it should of course be pointed out.

That the team likes Sizemore as much as it does is another point in the interim guy’s favor. But if Getz truly has his heart set on exploring what the world outside 35th and Shields has to offer, Sizemore likely won’t be returning in the same role.

But that doesn’t seem to be souring him on an unexpected, new experience that he’s wholeheartedly embracing.

“There’s a lot more adrenaline for me. It’s nerve-wracking, there’s a lot of anxiety and a lot of excitement all wrapped together,” Sizemore said Wednesday. “You’re not just worried about yourself, you’re trying to make sure every guy’s in the right spot, you’re trying to make the right moves at the right time and think ahead. So it’s a lot going on.

“Anxiety, that’s when you know you care, you know you’re alive. It’s that competition that drives you, wakes you up. I missed that. That’s why I got back in the game. I wanted to compete, and I missed that part of the game. It’s all good. I love it. I can’t wait to get to the park every day. It’s 8 a.m., and I’m ready to show up.”

Get Our Best Sox Content In Your Inbox!Become a smarter Chicago White Sox fan with Vinnie Duber's Sox Newsletter!

Just drop your email below!

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

Email *

Sign Up Now!

71153