Also nominated for the top award were DH Travis Hafner, in an entry with Sizemore to be co-winners, and left-hander C.C. Sabathia. Sizemore won by one vote over the combined ticket.
Sizemore's offensive production in only his second full season was impressive. The 24-year-old played in all 162 games, hit .290, scored 134 runs, and had 53 doubles, 11 triples, 28 homers, 22 stolen bases and 78 RBI. He led all MLB players in runs and tied for the big-league lead in doubles. His 92 extra-base hits led the American League.
Cleveland's leadoff hitter also became the second player in MLB history with 50 doubles, 10 triples, 20 homers and 20 steals, joining Hall of Famer Chuck Klein, who did it for the 1932 Philadelphia Phillies.
He also played a strong centerfield, taking away several hits with sliding, diving catches coming in or leaping efforts at the wall.
Hafner, who won the award in 2005, may have repeated if he hadn't suffered a broken bone in his right hand when hit by a pitch on Sept. 2. That ended his season, but not before he accumulated 31 doubles, 42 homers 100 runs and 117 RBI with a .308 average. He also tied Don Mattingly's MLB record with six grand slams.
Sabathia had only a 12-11 record, but his 3.22 ERA was third-lowest in the AL. He worked at least seven innings in 11 of his last 12 starts and led all MLB pitchers with six complete games -- including two shutouts.
Byrd went 10-9 with a 4.88 ERA in 31 starts in his first year with the Tribe. Good start of bad, Byrd spoke with media members and showed leadership in the clubhouse.
The "Good Guy" award goes to the player or member of the Indians staff who is most cooperative and exhibits the most professional behavior throughout a season. It is named for former Cleveland Press sportswriter Frank Gibbons and pitcher Steve Olin, both of whom had those qualities.
Outfielder Casey Blake and Sabathia also were nominated for the Good Guy Award.
CLEVELAND BBWAA MAN OF THE YEAR AWARD WINNERS
YEAR WINNER YEAR WINNER
1946 Bill Veeck 1947 Lou Boudreau
1948 Gene Bearden 1949 Bob Lemon
1950 Larry Doby 1951 Bob Feller
1952 Mike Garcia 1953 Al Rosen
Bob Lemon 1954 Bobby Avila
Early Wynn 1955 Al Smith
1956 Vic Wertz 1957 Gene Woodling
1958 Rocky Colavito 1959 Tito Francona
1960 Jim Perry 1961 Mel Harder
1962 Dick Donovan 1963 Max Alvis
1964 Don McMahon 1965 Rocky Colavito
1966 Sonny Siebert 1967 Max Alvis
1968 Luis Tiant 1969 Sam McDowell
1970 Ray Fosse 1971 Graig Nettles
Sam McDowell 1972 Gaylord Perry
1973 Buddy Bell 1974 Gaylord Perry
1975 Dave LaRoche Jim Perry
1976 Rico Carty 1977 Duane Kuiper
1978 Andre Thornton 1979 Dave Garcia
1980 Mike Hargrove 1981 Mike Hargrove
1982 Andre Thornton 1983 Rick Sutcliffe
Toby Harrah 1984 Bert Blyleven
1985 Brett Butler 1986 Joe Carter
1987 Brook Jacoby 1988 Doug Jones
1989 Jerry Browne 1990 Doug Jones
1991 Carlos Baerga 1992 Carlos Baerga
1993 Albert Belle 1994 no award (baseball strike)
1995 Jose Mesa 1996 Albert Belle
1997 Sandy Alomar Jr. 1998 Manny Ramirez
1999 Roberto Alomar 2000 Travis Fryman
Manny Ramirez 2001 Roberto Alomar
2002 Jim Thome 2003 Jody Gerut
2004 Victor Martinez 2005 Travis Hafner
2006 Grady Sizemore
FRANK GIBBONS-STEVE OLIN GOOD GUY AWARD WINNERS
YEAR WINNER YEAR WINNER
1968 Alvin Dark 1969 Lou Klimchock
1970 Larry Brown 1971 Hank Peters
1972 Dino Lucarelli 1973 Bob Gill
1974 Harold Bossard 1975 Boog Powell
Marshall Bossard 1976 Jim Warfield
1977 Cy Buynak 1978 Duane Kuiper
1979 Sid Monge 1980 Rick Manning
1981 Mike Seghi 1982 Dennis Sommers
1983 Don McMahon 1984 Andre Thornton
1985 Mike Hargrove 1986 Johnny Goryl
1987 Andre Thornton 1988 Doc Edwards
1989 Bud Black 1990 Brook Jacoby
Tom Candiotti 1991 Mike Hargrove
1992 Felix Fermin 1993 Cy Buynak
1994 no award (strike) 1995 Jim Thome
1996 Omar Vizquel 1997 Orel Hershiser
1998 Luis Isaac 1999 Dave Burba
2000 Sandy Alomar Jr. 2001 Charles Nagy
2002 Joel Skinner 2003 Ellis Burks
2004 Casey Blake 2005 Aaron Boone
2006 Paul Byrd