Sizemore’s return sparks team

By Robert Sisk

Published: June 14, 2008

Familiar faces are hard to come by in the Valley League, with players getting picked up in the draft, going home, trekking to another summer league or returning to school. Two-year players are rare enough, but the Waynesboro Generals wrangled Brandon Sizemore for a third year.
“It’s electrified not just the team but the community,” said Generals coach Lawrence Nesselrodt. “The people are familiar with Brandon and that’s a bonus for us. For me, he’s a great baseball player and he brings energy to every ball that’s hit at him.”
Sizemore, from the College of Charleston, has played for the Generals the past two seasons and is two starts into his third season. In his debut Wednesday night, he made his presence known, hitting a two-run home run to help secure a needed 9-7 win over Haymarket.
“It’s fun,” Sizemore said. “Why not live it up while you can? I’m just glad I’m playing well and [the fans] have someone to like. Who knows, if I wasn’t playing well I could just be another guy on the bench.”
Sizemore didn’t get his chance to make a third appearance after rain washed out Saturday’s game against Woodstock, marking the third postponement for the Generals this season.
Picked in the 46th round by the St. Louis Cardinals, Sizemore opted to return to the Valley League for one more year and try to help lead Waynesboro to a second VBL championship, while increasing his stock for the 2009 draft.
“The draft didn’t really work out for me,” Sizemore said. “It was one of those things, but I was glad to help the [Generals] this year.”
From the moment he arrived in Waynesboro, Generals fans began wondering if he was the missing cog in the machine that wound up running through the Valley League last season.
Waynesboro (5-4) currently is third in the South Division, barley holding onto a winning record. As of Saturday, the Generals hold a .236 team batting average — seventh in the 11-team league — but have the second best ERA in the league behind Staunton.
“He’s the kind of guy that fits on the face of an organization,” Nesselrodt said. “He exemplifies what a ball player is supposed to be. It’s not just stats or wins and losses and that intangible of every player doing the best they can every night.”
Sizemore has enjoyed becoming the face of the Generals over the last three years.
“I like all of these guys,” he said, “even the new ones. But playing with guys for two different summers is always nice.”
After Saturday’s rainout, the Generals will be forced to play 10 games straight and will play 18 of the next 19 days before getting a break for the All-Star game.
“You get used to the travel, but a lot of guys are used to it with road trips and school ball,” Sizemore said.
The majority of the Generals roster has checked in, with a few holes waiting to be filled. Nesselrodt said the Generals will be hitting their stride this week, looking to chase down Covington for the top spot in the South Division.
“We are still waiting on two, maybe three guys from LSU,” he said. “We have the roster filled, but we signed some in temporary positions to fill holes. You root for them to win the College World Series but we are also anxious to get them to kind of solidify the roster.”