CURTIS GRANDERSON - OUTFIELDER - #28 - (2002-present)

2007 SEASON

Became the second player in major league history to collect at least 30 doubles, 20 triples, 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases in a single season, joining Wildfire Schulte (1911) -- finished with 38 doubles, 23 triples, 23 home runs and 26 stolen bases during his second full season at the major league level with the Tigers... Philadelphia’s Jimmy Rollins accomplished the feat in 2007 as well to become the third player in major league history.

• Led the American League with 23 triples, while he finished third with 122 runs scored and 84 extra-base hits, fourth with 338 total bases, sixth with a .552 slugging percentage and tied for ninth with 57 multi-hit games.

• Seventh in the league with 141 strikeouts.

• His 122 runs scored were the most by a Tigers player since Ron LeFlore scored 126 runs in 1978, while his 23 triples were the most since Ty Cobb finished with 24 triples for the franchise in 1917.

• His 84 extra-base hits are the second-highest total by a lefthanded hitter in franchise history -- Charlie Gehringer collected 87 extra-base hits in 1936.

• Posted double-digits in doubles, triples, home runs and stolen bases, becoming the 13th player in Tigers history to do so in a single season.

• Became the sixth player in Tigers history to collect at least 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases in a single season -- joined Gary Sheffield in accomplishing the feat in 2007.

• Successful in 96.3 percent of his stolen base attempts (26x27), marking the best single-season stolen base percentage by a Tigers player since the statistic started being kept in 1920.

• Belted his first career grand slam on April 4 versus Toronto, connecting in the third inning against Shaun Marcum -- matched a career high with five RBI.

• Led off the game on April 23 at the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim with a home run off Jered Weaver, his seventh career lead-off home run -- led off the game with a home run six more times during the season: May 9 versus Seattle (Cha Seung Baek), July 14 at Seattle (Miguel Batista), July 23 at U.S. Cellular Field against the White Sox (Mark Buehrle), August 26 versus the New York Yankees (Phil Hughes), September 16 at Minnesota (Scott Baker) and September 22 versus Kansas City (Kyle Davies)...his seven lead-off home runs established a Tigers single-season record.

• Third in the American League with 10 doubles during April, while he was fourth with 16 extra-base hits, tied for seventh with 18 runs scored and tied for eighth with 52 total bases -- hit .263 (26x99) with 18 runs scored, 10 doubles, two triples, four home runs and 11 RBI in 25 games during the month.

• Established a career best with a 13-game hitting streak May 29-June 13, batting .352 (19x54) with nine runs scored, three doubles, seven triples and eight RBI.

• Hit .297 (30x101) with 19 runs scored, seven doubles, six triples, four home runs and 16 RBI in 28 games during May -- led the American League with six triples during the month, while he was fifth with 17 extra-base hits and tied for ninth with 61 total bases...first Tigers players to collect six triples in a month since Jake Wood did so in May of 1961.

• Collected two triples on June 7 at Texas -- first Tigers player to do so in a game since Chris Shelton on April 8, 2006 at Texas...finished with two triples on August 24 versus the New York Yankees.

• Connected for his 10th home run of the season on June 26 versus Texas to become the ninth major league player since 1957 to post double-digit totals in doubles, triples and home runs prior to the all-star break.

• Batted .306 (33x108) in 25 games during June, scoring 21 runs and collecting five doubles, six triples, three home runs and 14 RBI -- led the American League with six triples during the month, while he tied for eighth with 21 runs scored.

• Tabbed the American League Player of the Week for July 9-15 after hitting .563 (9x16) with seven runs scored, two doubles, a triple, home run and two RBI in four games.

• Earned Tigers Player of the Month honors for July after hitting .340 (36x106) with 27 runs scored, seven doubles, three triples, five home runs and 12 RBI in 27 games during the month -- second in the American League with 27 runs scored during July, while he tied for third with three triples, tied for fifth with 36 hits and finished ninth with a .604 slugging
percentage.

• Collected a season-high four hits on August 24 versus the New York Yankees -- matched the high with four hits on September 1 at Oakland and September 9 versus Seattle.

• Connected for his second career inside-the-park home run on August 26 versus New York Yankees.

• Tied for second in the American League with four triples during August.

• Swiped a career-high three bases on September 30 at U.S. Cellular Field against the White Sox -- most stolen bases by a Tigers player in a single game since Alex Sanchez stole four bases on September 27, 2003 versus Minnesota.

• Hit .348 (32x92) in 25 games during September, scoring 21 runs and collecting four doubles, two triples, five home runs and nine RBI -- tied for fifth in the American League during the month with 21 runs scored, while he tied for ninth with five home runs and finished 10th with a .598 slugging percentage.

• Batted .283 (96x339) with 62 runs scored, 24 doubles, 15 triples, 12 home runs and 43 RBI in 85 games prior to the all-star break -- led the American League with 15 triples prior to the all-star break, while he tied for the lead with 51 extra-base hits, finished fourth with 186 total bases, tied for sixth with 62 runs scored, tied for seventh with 24 doubles and 10th with a .549 slugging percentage...hit .326 (89x273) with 60 runs scored, 14 doubles, eight triples, 11 home runs and 31 RBI in 73 games following the break -- led the league with eight triples after the break, while he finished fourth with 60 runs scored and tied for 10th with 89 hits.

• Hit .337 (166x493) against righthanded pitchers -- fourth in the league with a .621 slugging percentage against righthanded pitchers, while he was sixth with a .337 batting average...batted .160 (19x119) with lefties on the mound, the lowest batting average in the league against lefthanded pitchers.

• Tied for ninth in the American League with a .318 batting average (99x311) in 80 games on the road...batted .286 (86x301) in 78 games at Comerica Park.

• Led all American League outfielders with 428 putouts, while he tied for eighth with 10 assists -- his 428 putouts are tied for third-most by a Tigers outfielder in franchise history (Barney McCoskey, 1939).

MAJOR LEAGUE CAREER

Served as the Tigers center fielder in his first full season at the major league level in 2006.

• Led the American League with 174 strikeouts -- third-highest single-season strikeout total in club history.

• Topped all league outfielders with a .997 fielding percentage, while he finished second with 389 total chances and 385 putouts.

• Posted four four-hit games during the season: May 25 at Kansas City, July 12 versus Tampa Bay, June 24 versus St. Louis and July 25 at Cleveland.

• Established a career high with five RBI on May 26 versus Cleveland.

• Batted .287 (29x101) with 13 runs scored, five doubles, a triple, four home runs and 18 RBI in 27 games during May.

• Hit .345 (30x87) over a 21-game stretch June 4-26, scoring 22 runs and collecting seven doubles, two triples, three home runs and 15 RBI.

• Led off the game on June 18 at Wrigley Field with a home run off Mark Prior of the Cubs, his first career lead-off home run -- led off the game with a home run five more times during the season: June 23 versus St. Louis (Chris Carpenter), August 27 at Cleveland (Cliff Lee), September 7 at Minnesota (Scott Baker), September 23 at Kansas City (Mark Redman) and September 29 versus Kansas City (Runelvys Hernandez).

• Second in the American League with 25 runs scored during June -- batted .303 (33x109) in 27 games during the month.

• Committed the first error of his major league career on July 25 at Cleveland, snapping a 150-game errorless streak -- longest such streak by a Tigers outfielder to begin his major league career...longest errorless streak to begin a major league career by a non-pitcher since Dave Roberts did not commit an error in his first 205 games August 7, 1999-April 20, 2003.

• Managed a .156 batting average (14x90) in 27 games during August, before rebounding to hit .273 (30x110) in 27 games during September -- tied for the lead in the American League with four triples during September, while he tied for 11th with 19 runs scored.

• Homered and tripled in the first inning on September 23 at Kansas City -- became just the fifth major leaguer since 1987 to accomplish the feat in the same inning, joining Detroit’s Tony Phillips (1991), Arizona’s Steve Finley (1999), Detroit’s Brandon Inge (2004) and Tampa Bay’s Carl Crawford (2005).

• Connected for two home runs on September 29 versus Kansas City, establishing a career high.

• Batted .274 (123x449) against righthanded pitchers...managed a .218 batting average (32x147) with lefties on the mound.

• Hit .278 (92x331) in 87 games prior to the all-star break -- tied for seventh in the league with four triples prior to the break...in 72 games following the all-star break, he batted .238 (63x265).

• His .997 fielding percentage was the best fielding percentage by a Tigers centerfielder since Mickey Stanley posted a 1.000 fielding percentage in 1970.

• Belted two home runs during the American League Division Series against the Yankees, matching a club record for home runs during a single post-season series -- finished with three home runs during the playoffs, tied for second-most in franchise history in a single post-season.

• Drew three walks during Game Three of the American League Championship Series on October 13 versus Oakland, matching the club record for walks during a league championship series game.

Received his first extended action at the major league level with the Tigers in 2005 -- tabbed the Detroit Sports Broadcasters’ Association Tigers Rookie of the Year.

• Recalled from Triple A Toledo by the Tigers on July 22.

• Belted his first major league home run July 23 versus Minnesota, a solo shot off Carlos Silva.

• Became the first major league player to hit two triples and two home runs in his first four games of the season since Milwaukee’s Pedro Garcia did so in 1974.

• Optioned back to Toledo on July 27 after hitting .318 (7x22) with two triples, two home runs and four RBI in six games for the Tigers.

• Joined the Tigers for the remainder of the season after being recalled from Triple A on August 15.

• Legged out an inside-the-park home run on September 15 at the Los Angeles Angels.

• Collected five hits against the Angels on September 18 to establish a career high.

• Belted a walk-off home run in the ninth inning against the Chicago White Sox on September 26.

• Batted .320 (8x25) with lefties on the mound while with the Tigers...hit .263 (36x137) against righthanded pitchers. Had his contract purchased by the Tigers from Double A Erie on September 12, 2004.

• Made his major league debut on September 13 versus Minnesota, starting in center field -- hitless in four at-bats, but he registered his first outfield assist.

• Singled as a pinch-hitter against Chicago’s Freddy Garcia in the eighth inning on September 19 at U.S. Cellular Field for the first hit of his major league career.

MINOR LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS

Named to the International League’s post-season all-star squad at Toledo in 2005.

• Finished second in the league with 13 triples...led all league outfielders with 15 assists.

• Batted .316 (25x79) in 19 games during April for the Mud Hens, scoring 13 runs and collecting nine doubles, a triple and 11 RBI.

• Belted two home runs June 9 versus Pawtucket to establish a season best -- matched the high with two home runs on
July 4 at Durham.

• Finished the month of July with a .337 batting average (30x89) in 22 games for Toledo...scored 18 runs and collected
nine doubles, two triples, five home runs and 18 RBI during the month.

• Named the 19th-best prospect in the International League following the season by Baseball America.

Named the Tigers Minor League Player of the Year for his efforts at Erie during the 2004 season.

• Selected to the Eastern League’s post-season all-star squad and Baseball America’s Double A all-star team.

• Second in the Eastern League with a .405 on-base percentage, tied for third with 89 runs scored and eight triples, tied for fourth with 94 RBI, ninth with 139 hits and tied for ninth with a .301 batting average.

• Belted a season-high two home runs May 1 at Altoona, while adding a triple and three RBI -- matched the season best with two home runs August 1 at Harrisburg and August 13 versus Arkansas.

• Reached base safely via a hit or walk in 33 straight games May 28-July 16, batting .323 (43x133) with 27 runs scored,
seven doubles, two triples, four home runs, 26 RBI and a .419 on-base percentage.

• Posted an 11-game hitting streak May 28-June 8, batting .327 (16x49) with nine runs scored, four doubles, three home
runs and 10 RBI.

• Over his final 62 games of the season June 17-September 6, he batted .343 (79x230) with 57 runs scored, 11 doubles, five triples, 15 home runs and 61 RBI.

• Sidelined June 21-July 3 with a left ankle sprain.

• Selected the Eastern League’s Player of the Week for July 26-August 1 after hitting .364 (8x22) with eight runs scored, a triple, four home runs and 11 RBI in six games.

• Drove in a run in eight straight games July 28-August 4, collecting a total of 19 RBI.

• Homered in five consecutive games July 30-August 3, belting six home runs.

• Finished the month of July with a .344 batting average (33x96) in 24 games, scoring 26 runs and recording two doubles, two triples, four home runs and 24 RBI to earn Tigers Minor League Player of the Month honors -- led the league with 26 runs scored and 21 walks, while he tied for second with 24 RBI and tied for 10th with 33 hits.

• Collected a season-best five hits August 3 at Portland.

• Hit safely in 11 straight games August 9-21, batting .400 (16x40) with 15 runs scored, three doubles, two triples, five
home runs and 15 RBI.

• Drove in a season-high five runs at Akron August 18.

• Batted .371 (36x97) with 26 runs scored, nine doubles, two triples, 10 home runs and 30 RBI in 27 games during August -- tied for second in the league with 10 home runs, third with 26 runs scored and 30 RBI, tied for fourth with 20 walks, fifth with a .371 batting average, tied for fifth with 36 hits and tied for ninth with nine doubles.

• Hit .301 (101x335) against righthanders in the Eastern League, while he batted .299 (38x127) with lefties on the mound.

• When leading off an inning, he batted .319 (22x69).

• Batted .338 (44x130) when hitting with runners in scoring position.

• Saw action in three games during the Eastern League playoffs for the SeaWolves, batting .182 (2x11) with a double
and an RBI.

• Named the seventh-best prospect in the Eastern League following the season by Baseball America.

• Named the 16th-best outfield prospect in baseball following the season by Baseball America.

• Named the top prospect in the Tigers organization following the season by Baseball America.

• Rated as the best hitter for average and possessing the best strike-zone discipline in the Tigers organization following
the season by Baseball America.

Selected to the Florida State League’s mid-season all-star squad for Single A Lakeland in 2003.

• Led the Florida State League with 10 triples, while tying for second with 218 total bases, finishing fourth with 71 runs
scored, 136 hits and a .458 slugging percentage, fifth with 50 extra-base hits and eighth with a .286 batting average.

• Tied for the lead among league outfielders with 15 assists.

• His .286 batting average tied for fourth-best among Tigers minor leaguers.

• Collected a season-high four hits April 18 versus Daytona.

• Drove in a season-best three runs against Fort Myers on June 10.

• Tied for fifth in the Florida State League with three home runs during June -- batted .284 (19x67) in 20 games during
the month.

• Posted a nine-game hitting streak July 7-16, batting .405 (17x42) with a double, three triples and five RBI.

• Hit .318 (35x110) with 15 runs scored, six doubles, four triples, two home runs and 12 RBI in 29 games during July --
his .318 batting average during the month was tied for 11th-best in the league, while he finished fourth with 55 total
bases.

• Finished fourth in the Florida State League with 46 total bases during August -- hit .298 (28x94) in 24 games during the month, collecting six doubles, three triples, two home runs and seven RBI.

• Fared better against lefthanded pitchers in the Florida State League, batting .325 (41x126)...hit .271 (95x350) with righties on the mound.

• Named the eighth-best prospect in the Tigers organization following the season by Baseball America.

Named the New York-Penn League’s Most Valuable Player at Single A Oneonta in 2002.

• Selected to the league’s post-season all-star squad and Baseball America’s short-season all-star team.

• Selected as the New York-Penn League’s Stedler Award winner, an award named after the league’s first president, Robert Stedler, and given to the player deemed likely to go the farthest in professional baseball.

• Named to Baseball America’s College Draft All-Star squad and rated by the publication as the fifth-best pure hitter and having the fifth-best debut among college players in the draft.

• Second in the New York-Penn League with a .344 batting average and .417 on-base percentage, fifth with a .495 slugging percentage and tied for fifth with 45 runs scored.

• Reached base safely via a hit or walk in 21 straight games July 10-August 1, batting .400 (38x95) with 20 runs scored, eight doubles, three triples, two home runs and six walks.

• Posted a 10-game hitting streak July 21-August 1, batting .444 (20x45) with eight runs scored, four doubles, a triple, home run and nine RBI.

• Hit .388 (38x98) with 22 runs scored, eight doubles, three triples, two home runs and 16 RBI in 22 games during July.

• Drove in a season-high five runs at Lowell on August 3.

• Collected a season-best four hits on August 16 against Lowell.

• In 26 games during August, he batted .310 (31x100) with 20 runs scored, five doubles, a triple, home run and 16 RBI.

• Appeared in five games for Oneonta during the New York-Penn League playoffs, going hitless in 16 at-bats.

• Named the 10th-best prospect in the New York-Penn League and 18th-best prospect in the Tigers organization following the season by Baseball America.

PERSONAL/MISCELLANEOUS

Resides in Lynwood, IL during the off-season.

• As a junior in 1998 at Thornton Fractional South High School in Illinois he batted .326 with eight doubles, four home runs and 22 RBI.

• Hit .427 with seven doubles, six home runs and 47 RBI as a senior at Thornton Fractional South High School in 1999 ... selected SICA Central All-Conference, as well as receiving Illinois Times, Daily Southtown and Star Newspaper All-Area recognition.

• Led the University of Illinois-Chicago with seven home runs and 45 walks as a freshman in 2000, batting .271 (57x210) with 38 RBI.

• Batted .304 (63x207) with 51 runs, eight doubles, five triples, eight home runs, 42 RBI and eight stolen bases during his sophomore season at the University of Illinois-Chicago in 2001...tied for the Midwestern Collegiate Conference lead with five triples...led the University of Illinois-Chicago in runs, home runs and walks (30).

• Selected as Second-Team All-American by Baseball America and USA Today’s Baseball Weekly and a Third-Team Louisville Slugger NCAA Division I All-American following his junior season at the University of Illinois-Chicago in 2002 ... batted .483 (100x207) with 76 runs, 23 doubles, four triples, nine home runs, 45 RBI and 17 stolen bases to earn All-Horizon League honors and Horizon League Player of the Year.

• Second among all NCAA Division I players with a .483 batting average in 2002 ... led the Horizon League in batting average, runs, hits and doubles ... established single-season records at the University of Illinois-Chicago in batting average, runs and hits.

• Concluded his college career as the school’s all-time leader with 178 runs scored, while placing second on the all-time list with 41 doubles and 24 home runs, third with nine triples, fourth with 220 hits and 624 at-bats, tied for fourth with 125 RBI, fifth with 107 walks and tied for fifth with a .350 batting average.

• Hit .321 (27x84) with 16 runs scored, four doubles, a home run and 15 RBI in 23 games for Grand Canyon in the Arizona Fall League following the 2004 season...one of six nominees for the MLB.com Arizona Fall League Dernell Stenson Sportsmanship Award.

• Played in 21 games with Licey in the Dominican Winter League following the 2005 season, hitting .194 (14x72) with nine runs scored, a double, home run and eight RBI.

• Respresented Major League Baseball on an ambassador trip to Europe following the 2006 season.

• Inducted into the University of Illinois-Chicago Athletics Hall of Fame on January 18, 2008.

• Is an active member of the Detroit Action Team, a national youth volunteer initiative administered by the Major League Baseball Players Trust and Volunteers of America that is actively recruiting the next generation of volunteers.

• Recommended/signed by Jerome Cochran for the Tigers.

• Became the second player in major league history to collect at least 30 doubles, 20 triples, 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases during a single season in 2007.

• Established a Tigers single-season record with seven lead-off home runs in 2007...connected for 13 lead-off home runs during his career.

INSIDE-THE-PARK HOME RUNS BY TIGERS
Curtis Granderson connected for the 279th inside-the-park home run in Tigers history on August 26, 2007 versus the New York Yankees at Comerica Park. It marked the fourth inside-the-park home run by a Tiger players in the eight-year history of Comerica Park.

Ty Cobb holds the franchise record for inside-the-park home runs during a career with 46, including a club-record nine inside-the-park home runs during the 1909 season.

08/02/2007 4:10 PM ET
Granderson making run at Mays' mark
Leadoff hitter focused on getting on base any way possible
By Jason Beck / MLB.com

DETROIT -- Curtis Granderson has heard all the talk about what statistics matter for a leadoff hitter. He measures a lot of his success by one. The rest might be history.

Instead of overly obsessing on more walks, longer at-bats or any of the myriad other stats so often used to measure leadoff runs, Granderson has taken a teammate's advice and looks at runs scored. With the offense behind him, he wants to get on base however possible. By taking a simple approach, he's on his way to threatening a very complex feat.

Only two players in modern baseball history have recorded 20 doubles, 20 triples, 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases in the same season. Nobody has done it since Hall of Famer Willie Mays in 1957, and the other was back in 1911. Fittingly, it was someone nicknamed "Wildfire" Frank Schulte.

While Phillies All-Star shortstop Jimmy Rollins has three of the four categories, needing six triples to fill out the feat, Granderson is in similar territory. He enters play this weekend needing three triples, four home runs and seven stolen bases over the season's final eight weeks to reach those standards.

In Granderson's case, it's quite a feat for someone in his second full year in the Major Leagues, but it's a telling sign of what has worked for him in a breakout season that has him leading the American League in extra-base hits and trailing only Alex Rodriguez in total bases.

"It would be interesting," Granderson said this week. "It's a surprise, because nothing feels out of the ordinary. I'm not just going [for a lot of stolen bases]. Triples and home runs will just happen. You can try to hit a home run, but you definitely can't try to hit a triple. If I end up being around that milestone towards the end of the season, it'll be a great accomplishment. The good thing is with those [statistics], that I can't really push, it eliminates me focusing on it."

Instead of weighing each situation, Granderson just goes. Between a penchant for line drives and an aggressive mentality on the basepaths, it's becoming harder for opponents to catch him.

"In a lot of ways, he's one of the hardest guys to pitch to on our ballclub," said first-base coach Andy Van Slyke. "He can hit a home run, he can hit extra-base hits, and if he walks, he can steal a base. In a lot of ways, he's a pitcher's nightmare."

As the outfield and baserunning coach on the team, Van Slyke has worked with Granderson for the last two years. When they began instruction in Spring Training 2006 to prepare him for an everyday leadoff role, they worked on technique and mechanics, as did then-hitting coach Don Slaught.

Granderson was a willing student, and he ended up with a relatively solid season. But a late-season slump and a league-leading strikeout total had some fans wondering whether he was a fit for the leadoff role.

Then during the Tigers' winter caravan, new slugger Gary Sheffield said something that stuck with him.

"Sheffield mentioned to me in January, 'You should be a guy that scores 100 runs,'" Granderson said. "That's what I'm trying to get myself to. I can't force a run. But just trying to get on base will put me in a position to score runs."

With that, Granderson had his goal. His coaches had the way to help get him there. This year, Van Slyke tackled the mental side of the game, and much of hitting coach Lloyd McClendon's work was the same.

"I think Curtis Granderson is the most conscientious young man that I've ever been around in baseball," Van Slyke said. "That's how I feel about him as a person. That translates into his personality as a baseball player in the sense that he always wants to do everything right, almost to a fault, because he doesn't want to make any mistakes. So, because he doesn't want to make any mistakes, sometimes he doesn't let himself fly enough [on the bases]. Not passive, but too cautious."

While McClendon worked on Granderson's two-strike approach, he also maintained the 26-year-old's aggressiveness. As Granderson explained, McClendon wanted him to understand situations and what pitchers would try to do to him, then react.

Van Slyke, meanwhile, wanted to mitigate Granderson's reluctance to risk mistakes.

"This isn't like trying to steal diamonds," Van Slyke said. "You have to worry about getting caught stealing diamonds, so you have to have the perfect crime. So I told him to have the mentality that it's a pickup game with your buddies in the backyard, and it's three minutes to six and you're supposed to be home for dinner at six o'clock.

"I also told him that I thought last year he should've had more triples -- that triples is a mentality that every time I hit the ball in the outfield, that my first thought is I'm going to be standing at third base -- if I'm not, then second base, and if not, then first base. I told him to think three, then two, then one, instead of one, two, then three."

The aggressiveness can be seen each time Granderson gets out of the box. His triples look like he saw the opportunity all along. His doubles often are without a burst of speed rounding first base because he's already around his top speed.

"Even on home runs that I hit in the past," Granderson said, "guys were like, 'Man, you need to slow down. You've got that one.'"

The home runs are the one stat that hasn't changed all that much. He hit 19 last year, and he's three shy of that now. His 17 triples, however, are nearly double his 2006 total. At one point, he had a statistical chance to threaten the league's single-season record before falling back from the pace.

Considering he could become just the fifth player since Mays 50 years ago to have a 20-triple season, that's not a bad consolation prize.

Meanwhile, after striking out 174 times last year, his next strikeout this season will be his 100th, well below that pace. His walks are just half of what they were last season, but that's not a concern.

He wants runs, plain and simple, however he can get on base. This is his way to do it. With 85 runs, 100 is a near-certainty. Mays' and Schulte's feat is another matter.

"If he doesn't walk enough, that's someone else's opinion," manager Jim Leyland said. "I'll take a leadoff man that's leading the league in extra-base hits any day of the year."

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

2009

Posted: Dec. 10, 2009
Leaving Detroit is 'tough' for Curtis Granderson
He says he had fun, praises Tigers fans

BY JOHN LOWE
FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER

INDIANAPOLIS -- Poised and polite. The words capture Curtis Granderson's conduct throughout six seasons as a Tiger.

They also describe Granderson on Wednesday night in his first interview after the Tigers traded him to the team of "Jeter, Teixeira, A-Rod, Robinson Cano" -- as he rattled off some of his Yankees teammates.

Asked to give a message to Tigers fans, Granderson said: "It's been a great relationship. I'm glad I got to start my career there. I had a lot of fun, learning a lot about Detroit. The fans are very loyal and diehard. If you play hard, they respect you."

Leaving all that, he said, "is going to be tough."

He said it will be difficult to leave his educational efforts in Detroit. But he found a positive: "One of our goals was to (go) nationwide, and what better market to do that in than New York?"

Two winters ago, Granderson signed a five-year contract, $30-million contract. That deal seemed to promise security with the Tigers. Instead, it caused him to be traded, because the Tigers felt they had to reduce payroll.

"You put yourself in a situation to make stability for your career," Granderson, 28, said of his contract. "But at certain times you've got to make moves. The good thing is that no matter where I go, I still get to play. That's the good thing about the contract."

NOTEBOOK: Manager Jim Leyland said Granderson's exit makes the Tigers "a little lopsided right-handed" in the batting order and leaves him without any idea who the team's leadoff hitter will be. That would explain why the Tigers have talked to the Dodgers about a trade for Juan Pierre, who like Granderson is a left-handed-hitting outfielder who can lead off. Were the Tigers to acquire Pierre, they'd apparently either have to trade Carlos Guillen for him or move Guillen to DH (not his favorite spot) so Pierre could play left. That all presumes that newcomer Austin Jackson wins the Tigers' centerfield job. ...

For the second straight year and third time in his career, Edwin Jackson goes to a new team in a trade. "It's not tough," Jackson, 26, told the Arizona Republic. "I've always been one of those guys (that) as long as a team wants me, it's never a bad thing. When a team doesn't want me, then we'd have a problem. I understand it's a business and that teams have to make adjustments." ...

Granderson's number as a Tiger was 28, and manager Joe Girardi intends to switch from No. 27 to No. 28 -- signifying the Yankees' quest for a 28th World Series title. Growing up, Granderson also wore Nos. 2 and 8. "Those numbers aren't options either," Granderson said, knowing the first belongs to Derek Jeter and the latter retired for Yogi Berra and Bill Dickey.