New White Sox manager Grady Sizemore shares how he wants to impact team in final 45 games of season originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

New White Sox manager Grady Sizemore never expected to be in this position. When he stopped playing in 2015, he didn’t know what he wanted to do next.

“I knew I wanted to make an impact on players’ lives, on their games, and just be a resource and help out in any way I could,” Sizemore said.

This began in 2017 as a special advisor to Cleveland’s player development department.

After taking a break from the game in 2023 to focus on his family, Sizemore reached out to former teammate Josh Barfield to join the Arizona Diamondbacks, where Barfield served as director of player development. No positions were available at the time, so Sizemore accepted a $15-an-hour internship with Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen.

When Barfield became the White Sox assistant general manager at the end of the season, he recommended Sizemore to Grifol and White Sox General Manager Chris Getz for a place on the coaching staff.

Now Sizemore is the man tasked with getting the White Sox back on track. Heading into Friday’s game against the Cubs, the team is 28-89 and has won just 38 games, its fewest since the 1935 Boston Braves. The White Sox’s 124 losses would be an MLB record.

But Sizemore says focusing on avoiding a travesty of this magnitude would be “a waste of time.” Instead, he thinks about the bigger picture.

“The only thing you can focus on is what you can control. My focus is not on external factors, not on records, not on other teams. It’s on the guys. It’s on what I can do to put them in the best position possible to be successful.

“We’re going to try to improve every day and play baseball the way we know how to play it and do the best we can.”

Sizemore also isn’t worried about trying to impress the White Sox as they begin their search for a new manager. The team has said they will look for candidates from outside the organization, and that would exclude Sizemore.

“I have a lot to get through right now. I have a lot of work to do and it would be stupid to skip today.”

The White Sox fired Pedro Grifol on Thursday, who led the team to an 89-190 (. 319) record in 279 games as manager.

Click here to follow the White Sox Talk Podcast.