On a cold December day in 2013, the New York Mets signed lefty outfielder Curtis Granderson to a four year, $60 Million contract. Expecting a power hitting slugger, the Mets would in fact receive a fascinating and unexpected leadoff hitter. For the magical 2015 season, the formula of batting Granderson in the lead-off spot, paid rich dividends. Granderson led the team in games played, runs scored, hits, stolen bases, walks, OBP and total bases. With the addition of José Reyes in 2016 and a more crowded outfield, Granderson saw his role on the team diminished. Where does Granderson fit on the 2017 team?
Although Granderson saw less at bats in 2016, he still produced solid power numbers. On the season, Granderson crushed 30 home runs, with several coming at big moments on the season. He bounced around the lineup, seeing less time at lead-off due to Reyes joining the team. He still brought the hustle mentality to the game though, a sight that was pleasant to many fan’s eyes. Sadly, Granderson’s 30 home runs and hustling attitude will be overshadowed by a glaring weakness in his 2016 season.
Granderson only drove in 59 runs in 2016, a shockingly low number considering his home run total. This can be attributed to his extremely low batting average with runners in scoring position. Granderson hit a lowly .152 with runners in scoring position in 2016, paired with a meek 23 RBIs. With two outs, Granderson only managed three RBIs with runners in scoring position. So was this just a fluke? Or is it a sign that Granderson, about to enter his age 36 season, is starting to age out of the league?
I’m going to go out on a limb and say that it was only a fluke. It seems unreasonable to think that a player of Granderson’s stature and experience can’t drive in at least 70 RBIs. In fact, the largest factor for Granderson’s run producing ability will most likely be the playing time he receives, rather than his struggles with runners on. Unless he is put in center, Granderson is just one member of a very crowded left-handed hitting corner outfielder club on the Mets. Barring any trade of Jay Bruce Granderson will be competing with Bruce and Conforto for playing time. It may be beneficial to Granderson that he has experience in center field, more than the other corner outfielders. Even there, Granderson may have to compete with Juan Lagares.
Granderson does best all of the other players in at least one area of the game. When baseball decided to give to him, he decided to give back. As a recipient of the Roberto Clemente Award, Granderson shows a level of kindness and compassion that is unknown in the game today. Granderson is committed to giving back to his home community of Chicago, Illinois, while also participating in New York area events. One look at his charity and community accolades left me astounded, and proud to posses a tee shirt that bares his last name. It makes total sense that he is a fan favorite, and he often makes time before games to sign autographs for fans. While this doesn’t affect his playing abilities, it sure does make him easier to root for.
Here’s to hoping Granderson gets the opportunities that he has earned in 2017.
He’s an .800 OPS with an ability to man all of positions….and he can be effecteive in CF, on a measured basis.
He runs bases…. he hits with power.
400-500 ab’s….a nice threat off the bench….. he has several ways to help a team.
“Granderson crushed 30 home runs, with several coming at big moments on the season.”
Tell me how several home runs came at big moments when he had only 59 RBI’s?
Tell me how a guy who hits .159 with runners in scoring position had several home runs come at big moments?
I’m going to reply to this question as if it’s a sincere attempt to gain knowledge.
Familiarize yourself with Win Expectancy, Win Probability Added and Leverage Index and you’ll find when and where Granderson’s big home runs came. That’s, you know, if you don’t remember from actually watching the games.
This strikes me as yet another unnecessarily snide rebuke to a valid point. And a good way to shut down a conversation.
I don’t think a casual fan, or even a diehard fan, should have to familiarize himself with Win Expectancy, Win Probability Added, and Leverage Index. Often it’s just a way to lose the forest from the trees. Regular fans don’t care about this stuff.
Many of us admire and respect Curtis Granderson as a player. But his .159 BA with RISP was a truly disappointing performance. So while it’s true that he hit some big homers just by the law of averages, it obscures the truth that, obviously, he also failed to come through on a high-frequency of occasions.
No, it’s not valid. Quoting season-long RBI totals has nothing to do with “several big home runs.” If you watched the games, you’d know that Granderson hit big home runs, regardless of his struggles with RISP. That point is not up for debate. If you didn’t watch the games, you can look at the three metrics I pointed out to find out about them after the fact.
People can watch and enjoy the games on any level they prefer. What they cannot do is come to this blog and say something false. When they do they will be challenged and corrected. And if you come here and say something false with attitude – you’ll get attitude back.
It’s very simple.