T.F. South grad Granderson back in race, on fast track

The Brewers have made several significant moves this season to compete with the Cubs in the National League Central, including the signings of Lorenzo Cain and Jhoulys Chacin and the acquisitions of Christian Yelich and MikeMoustakas.

One overlooked move that already has paid off for general manager David Stearns is the Aug. 31 deal that sent a minor-leaguer to the Blue Jays for 37-yearold outfielder Curtis Granderson.

It was a line on the agate page to most fans, but Granderson isn’t just a spare outfielder brought in to give Ryan Braun some rest. He’s a winner, having been on seven postseason teams for four franchises over a 15-year career, dating to the Tigers’ World Series run in 2006.

Granderson signed a one-year, $5 million deal with the Blue Jays in late January of a slow offseason for free agents. After the Jays’ season went south, they dealt him to the Brewers just before the Sept. 1 deadline to be eligible for the postseason roster.

Though he had only 17 plate appearances off the bench for the Brewers entering the weekend series with the Pirates at Miller Park, Granderson had five hits and five walks for a .647 on-base percentage and had scored eight runs in eight games. He went 3-for-4 with a homerWednesday in a 5-1 victory over the Cubs at Wrigley Field, giving the Brewers their biggest series victory to date.

Clearly there’s something about being in a race that rejuvenates Granderson.

“I was super excited,” he said of the move to Milwaukee. “One was being thrown into the mix of September, which is where you want to be. You basically control your owndestiny. If youwin series, put yourselves in opportunities to be able to win, and if youdo happen to lose games, you rebound back, likewe have.

“It’s a big month, but it’s a very micro month. One day, one series at a time.”

A graduate of T.F. South and UIC, Granderson is active in the community and donated $5 million to UIC for the construction of a new baseball stadium that was named for him and opened in 2014.

His family and friends aremostly a mix of Cubs and White Sox fans, so they have mixed feelings when he comes to one of the Chicago ballparks.

“I’ve never played for either one, so they mutuallywant to see me dowell, but whenwe play them, they don’twant to see my team dowell,” he said.

So why has he never signed with the Cubs or Sox?

“It’s funny, but everyone always mentions stuff like that,” he said. “I went undrafted by both of them, gone through two rounds of free agency and not a call fromeither one of them.

“Everyone’s like, ‘When you going to comehome?’ I tell them, ‘Tell them to pick up the phone.’ They haven’t done it.”

But never say never. How many years does Granderson think he has left?

“Physically and mentally I’m all good,” he said. “We’ll see if that ends up being something that happens.”