HOUSTON — Grady Sizemore’s title with the Chicago White Sox is “offensive coordinator,” which is generally more associated with the gridiron than the diamond.
“I got to get a good script going every day,” Sizemore said Sunday morning in the Rate Field home dugout. “For a while, our red-zone offense was terrible, a lot of fourth-down conversions not going our way.”
Football jokes aside, Sizemore described the role as “trying to find different avenues.”
“Trying to help (hitting coach) Marcus (Thames) and (assistant hitting coach) Joel (McKeithan) on the hitting side and look for ways that me and (first base/outfield coach) Jason (Bourgeois) can come up with different baserunning cues for these guys and really just trying to find ways to improve and look for an advantage and get some runs on the board.”
Sizemore joined the Sox coaching staff last season as a major-league coach. He served as interim manager after the Sox fired Pedro Grifol on Aug. 8.
“I’m really grateful for the opportunity,” said Sizemore, who went 13-32 in the 45 games to finish the 2024 season. “It was a fun experience. And I was just proud to lead those guys and … it was a great learning experience.
“We have a new team here with a lot of new faces, so trying to build that trust and get that same flow that we kind of finished with is what we are trying to do here.”
Sizemore sees some similarities in his approach this season.
“It was such a short period (managing last year), all I tried to do then was put the guys in a good spot and create a good environment and use the coaches around me to try to help in any way they can,” he said. “It’s kind of similar now. I’m in a different role, but we’re still trying to work together to find an advantage.
“A lot of it’s learning these guys and trying to build trust with the players and give them what they need in the right moment. So that’s what I’m trying to do.”
Sizemore took over for a team last season that wound up setting the modern major-league record for losses with 121. The 2025 Sox were 23-45 — the second-worst record in the majors — entering Game 2 of their series against the Houston Astros on Thursday night.
Asked if he’d like to manage again, Sizemore said, “I’m not really looking that far ahead.”
“I didn’t set out for that last year,” he said. “I didn’t think that was on the bingo card. I was trying to make the most of the opportunities I had in the moment.”
He said the new role has “been fun.”
“It’s exciting to be a part of what we are doing here and just trying to make the most of it,” Sizemore said. “(The day to day responsibilities are) different every day. It depends on what we are doing. Obviously we are always trying to come up with a game plan for who we are facing that night and then trying to get the guys working on whatever they might be working on to fine-tune that.”
Sox manager Will Venable described teaming up with Sizemore as “awesome.”
“You get the baseball sense from him,” Venable said Tuesday at Daikin Park before the series opener. “He always offers what the players might be thinking. He just offers a unique perspective and has an ability to communicate really well, sees the game really well, great relationship with the players.
“He’s been an invaluable resource for me personally and our club.”
Sizemore has enjoyed working with Venable.
“He keeps it relaxed,” Sizemore said. “It’s been fun. We are all learning each other as we go. It’s not really until the season starts that you get a feel for how he’s going to manage or what he’s looking for or how he wants to attack certain situations.
“We are feeling each other out and learning the players that are new and trying to come up with a new game plan. It doesn’t always work, we learn from that and try to improve on each day. I think we are seeing some of those signs of success and what’s working for us.”
Since May 24, the Sox lead the majors with 74 walks, and their chase rate since May 1 (25%) is tied for the best mark in the majors.
“We are always, whether we have a lead or we are trying to get back in the game, it’s really being aggressive, attacking the zone and playing to our strengths and being disciplined with the game plan,” Sizemore said. “Depending on who is on the mound, it will vary or change but also play into our strengths.
“We’ve done a better job of that lately. Having some of our veterans back has helped stabilize the lineup a little bit and taken some of the pressure off the younger guys and they can learn from them and feed off them.”
Sizemore said remaining in the organization and watching the players grow has been “exciting.”
“We have our veterans back, we have the young guys — so we’re seeing what it was meant to look like from the start of the year right now,” Sizemore said.
“I think that’s the exciting part, when it comes together and we’re seeing positive results in the series-to-series. It’s all been fun. I’ve enjoyed my time here and the relationships I’ve built, so just looking to continue that and try to get better each day.”
