Sizemore joins 30-30 club with homer

Sizemore joins 30-30 club with homer
First Indians player since 1987 to accomplish the feat
By Anthony Castrovince / MLB.com

DETROIT -- We now have a statistic that can sum up Grady Sizemore's offensive ability better than any scouting report could.

The stat is 30-30. Sizemore reached that impressive home run-stolen base mark on Monday night, when he hit his 30th homer of 2008 with a solo shot off the Tigers' Armando Galarraga to lead off the Indians' 4-3 win at Comerica Park.

The 30 homers -- actually, 31, as he struck again with another solo homer in the third -- and 34 stolen bases put Sizemore in historic company. Only nine other American Leaguers and 31 other Major Leaguers are members of the 30-30 club. The only other Indians player to join that club was Joe Carter in 1987.

"Ideally, as a leadoff guy, that's how I want to be looked at is a guy who can hit for power, hit for average, get on base and steal bases and create runs by himself," Sizemore said. "I like to be in that category of both power and speed."

Even the low-key Sizemore had to admit the 30-30 achievement was significant.

"I was trying not to think about it as I got closer to it," he said. "Now that I got there and it's over with, I'll take a step back and enjoy it."

Still, when Sizemore connected on the leadoff shot to the opposite field in left and returned to the dugout, he showed no signs that he was basking in the glow of what he had just accomplished.

"He's unbelievable," manager Eric Wedge said. "You wouldn't know if that was his first homer or his 30th."

Of course, everybody knew the significance of Sizemore's feat. The numbers merely speak to the bigger picture of the type of hitter the 26-year-old Sizemore has become in four full big league seasons.

"When you say [30-30], you think about an athlete with a tremendous amount of ability," Wedge said. "Strength, as well as quickness. You think of a complete ballplayer."

The complete list of ballplayers who have reached 30-30 is a relatively short one. Ten different American League players have done it a total of 14 times. The last was the Rangers' Alfonso Soriano in 2005. In the National League, 23 players have done it a total of 38 times.

Sizemore's leadoff homer had significance beyond 30-30. It was his seventh this season, extending his club record, and it was his 18th career leadoff blast, tying a club mark set by Kenny Lofton.

"It's a nice way to start the game," Sizemore said. "When you're leading the game off as the first batter and you can change the game with one swing, you give momentum to the team and rattle the pitcher."

Sizemore has rattled many pitchers on his way to 30-30 and with 32 games remaining in '08, the possibility of Sizemore becoming the fifth member of the 40-40 club isn't out of the question.

"I'll take the same approach I did before," Sizemore said upon mention of 40-40. "I'll go day to day and try not to think about it. I've got a long way to go before I get there."




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