Yardbarker: Curtis Granderson

Trade Market: Center Fielders

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:07:42 -0500

Next up in our Trade Market series, center fielders. We discussed free agents at the position here. Curtis Granderson, Tigers. Granderson, 29 in March, slipped to .249/.327/.453 in 710 plate appearances this year, but he did hit 30 home runs with 72 walks. David Golebiewski of FanGraphs considers Granderson's slash line misleading. Granderson struggled mightily against lefties; last year's .739 OPS against them was the only decent showing of his career. He's owed...

Albert Pujols Named "Player of the Year" by Peers

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:03:45 -0500

Albert Pujols has been named by his peers as the 2009 Player of the Year Curtis Granderson honored as Marvin Miller Man of the Year In a season marked by extraordinary performances on and off the field, Major League baseball players today bestowed their highest honors on two players – St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols is Player of the Year and Detroit Tigers centerfielder Curtis Granderson is the Marvin Miller Man of the Year. The Major League Baseball Players Trust will honor Pujols and Granderson, the top Players Choice Award winners, with donations of $50,000 each to the charities of their choice. The Awards announcements were made this morning on ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike in the Morning show during the finale of an exclusive, five-day broadcast special presented by Upper Deck and benefiting the Major League Baseball Players Trust. Pujols helped guide the Cardinals to their fourth NL Central Division crown in six years by leading the Majors in home runs for the first time, with 47. The eight-time Players Choice Award winner finished first among all National Leaguers in runs scored (124), on-base percentage (.443) and slugging percentage (.658), second in doubles (45) and third in batting average (.327), RBI (135) and walks (115). Pujols, 29, hit above .300 with 30-plus home runs and 100-plus RBI for the ninth consecutive season. Pujols has now been honored by his peers with Players Choice Awards as Player of the Year and NL Outstanding Player in 2003, 2008 and 2009, Marvin Miller Man of the Year in 2006 and NL Outstanding Rookie in 2001. Granderson earned the Marvin Miller Man of the Year award, named for the founding executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association and awarded to the player whose on-field and off -field performance most inspires others to higher levels of achievement, by displaying as much passion to give back to others as he shows between the lines on the baseball diamond . In 2008, he established the Grand Kids Foundation to focus on improving opportunities for inner-city youth in the areas of education and youth baseball. A graduate of the University of Illinois-Chicago, Granderson recently released a children’s book, All You Can Be, which encourages children to chase their dreams. He is also an active member of the Action Team national youth volunteer program administered by the Players Trust and Volunteers of America, which is inspiring and training the next generation of volunteers in more than 150 high schools across the United States. Granderson, 28, just completed his fourth full season in the Majors and set a career high in home runs (30), and finished with 157 hits, 91 runs scored, 23 doubles, 8 triples, 20 stolen bases and 71 RBI in 160 games with the Tigers. To listen to a podcast of the Players Choice Awards announcements and player interviews, please click here: http://espn.go.com/espnradio/show?showId=mikeandmike Players Choice Awards annually recognize the best player, pitcher, rookie and comeback player in each league. The Player of the Year and Marvin Miller Man of the Year awards bestow top honors without regard to league. Balloting of all Major League players for the Players Choice Awards was conducted in September under the supervision of accounting firm KPMG. Players Choice Awards winners will recommend the charities of their choice to receive grants from the Major League Baseball Players Trust totaling $260,000. Since 1992, the Players Trust has contributed more than $3.5 million dollars to charities around the world in honor of Players Choice Award winners. Select Read More to see the 2009 Players Choice Awards finalists and winners

Morning Prowl: Granderson the Union Man, Missing Miguel Cabrera, and Creating Trade Rumors

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 05:00:24 -0500

More photos » by Duane Burleson - AP How will Aubrey Huff's terribly disappointing stint with the Detroit Tigers affect his value on the free agent market this winter? Browse more photos » Curtis Granderson was quoted in this ESPN.com piece by Amy K. Nelson about the $11 million compensation package Donald Fehr will receive when he steps down as head of the MLB Players Association. As a me...

Andy Van Slyke Won't Return Next Season

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 18:32:01 -0500

One member of the Detroit Tigers' coaching staff will not be back next season, but it's not the guy many expected (or hoped) would be gone. First base coach Andy Van Slyke will not be among the five coaches of Jim Leyland's staff to return in 2010. It was not revealed by the Tigers, however, whether or not Van Slyke was dismissed or chose to leave. When asked to clarify that distinction by Jason Beck, Van Slyke said it was "irrelevant." Van Slyke was ...

BYB and SethSpeaks.net Chat About the Tigers-Twins Playoff

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 07:40:16 -0500

More photos » by Duane Burleson - AP Will Ryan Raburn and Curtis Granderson be celebrating tonight at the Metrodome? Browse more photos » As mentioned last night, I was a guest on Seth Stohs' Minnesota Twins podcast last night to preview this afternoon's tiebreaker between the Twins and Detroit Tigers. We covered was the week that was for both the Tigers and Twins. Seth wanted the Tige...

Anything is Possible! Tigers 12, White Sox 5

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 07:55:23 -0500

More photos » by Charles Rex Arbogast - AP Curtis Granderson can't believe the comeback he and his Detroit Tigers staged in Chicago on Saturday night. Browse more photos » Now that was a comeback. The Detroit Tigers have rallied plenty of times this season when they were behind. But what they did Saturday night in Chicago stands apart from those other revivals. We've seen pitching due...

This Week's Poll: Should the Tigers Trade Granderson?

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 13:10:20 -0500

More photos » by Elise Amendola - AP Curtis Granderson has had a rough year, but is he still a core player for the Detroit Tigers? Browse more photos » After spending all winter and most of this season beating his "the Tigers should trade Magglio Ordonez" drum, Lynn Henning has moved on to a new drum, this one about Curtis Granderson. He's suggested that the Tigers might look into tradi...

Tigers Lose: Game 140 Thread of Shame

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 21:45:15 -0500

by Duane Burleson - AP about 2 hours ago: Detroit Tigers center fielder Curtis Granderson makes a diving attempt on a fly ball hit by Toronto Blue Jays' Aaron Hill in the first inning of a baseball game Friday, Sept. 11, 2009, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson) View full size photo uploaded September 11, 2009 And now... this has become a problem. Four straight losses? Did that off-day on Monday ki...

Crown Gems: Granderson, Pedro, and Site Suggestions

Sun, 06 Sep 2009 18:42:49 -0500

Tonight is draft night for my fantasy football league, so here are a couple links to enjoy until tomorrow. As you can tell from the last couple of days, Big League Stew is fast becoming one of my favorite baseball sites. The movement grows. Even Curtis Granderson thinks Zack Greinke is the favorite to win the [...]

Question on Granderson

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 12:36:15 -0500

Curtis Granderson led off the Tigers’ first inning with a home run, the twenty sixth of his career. That three higher than his previous best season. What happened to the rest of his power? In 2007, Granderson knocked out 84 extra-base hits, including 23 triples. In 2008, missing 21 games, he [...]

Curtis Granderson, You're Not A Leadoff Hitter!

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 14:20:00 -0500

Curtis Granderson is on pace to hit 33 homeruns and strike out 139 times this season. His averages are .260/.344/.467. In 2008 he hit 22 homeruns and struck out 111 times. 2007 saw 26 and 141. And in 2006 he struck out 174 times. His career-high in stolen bases is just 26. Curtis Granderson, you are not a leadoff hitter.This is a guy who should be batting sixth or seventh in the order. He does not walk nearly enough to bat from the one spot, nor does he hit high enough. Moreover, he does not ...

Curtis Granderson Loves Chicago And We Love Him Back

Fri, 15 May 2009 10:47:21 -0500

I have been a huge Curtis Granderson fan since his days playing baseball at University of Illinois at Chicago (of which I am an alum). I didn’t know him personally, but he was always smiling and friendly with everyone around campus and just generally had a great reputation. When he came up with the Tigers, [...]

The Sideshow | 10.10.08

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 16:04:34 -0500

BABES: A quickie with Karissa and Kristina Shannon BABES: Denise Van Outen's body still solid BABES: The REAL sexiest woman in the world BABES: Lucy Wieland asked for it BABES: Elisabetta Gregoraci is sexy SPORTS: NHL coach shoots self in the face SPORTS: Tuberville a master at "coach speak" SPORTS: Re-drafting your fantasy football draft SPORTS: The Rays are getting cocky SPORTS: Tim Montgomery gets five more years in jail for heroin sales SPORTS: Interview with Curtis Grande...

Granderson's Catch of the Day

Mon, 09 Jul 2007 22:17:54 -0500

In case you missed this amazing catch by Curtis Granderson in Sunday's game against the Red Sox, here it is. A few of his teammates called it the greatest catch they have ever seen in person. Wily Mo Pena's deep flyball had already soared over the wall in left-center when Granderson leaped, and simply reached back and took it back. Incredible!