Granderson, who helped drive Tigers, Yankees and others, retires
Curtis Granderson, the longtime outfielder who began his career in the Detroit Tigers organization and was instrumental in the 2006 American League championship season, announced his retirement on social media last week.
“It’s been an incredible journey! Thanks for the ride of a lifetime, @MLB,” Granderson tweeted, with a longer message to baseball, the organizations he played for, coaches and fans.
Granderson was a three-time All-Star, including 2009 with the Tigers, a Silver Slugger Award winner in 2011 with the New York Yankees, and won the Roberto Clemente Award (given to the player who best combines good play and work in the community) with the New York Mets in 2016.
But he got his start with the Tigers, who took him in the third round of the 2002 draft out of Illinois-Chicago. He got his first call-up in September 2004, then became the starting center fielder in 2006.
From there, Granderson led the lineup for the most surprising comeback team in baseball, hitting 19 home runs and 68 RBI with a .260 average. The Tigers went 95-67 that season and went on to play in the World Series just three seasons after losing an AL-record 119 games.
Granderson became a symbol of both the franchise’s rebirth and the city’s resurgence, something he said he was honored by in his final visit to Comerica Park in May 2019.
“The fact was that the city was in a situation they were in before, when technically the economic crisis had hit and they were starting to get affected here,” Granderson said. “So many people were turning to sports and looking for enjoyment, and we were able to provide that. Everywhere we went, not only in Detroit, but out of Detroit, we felt that support.”
His best Tigers season came in 2007, when he hit .302 with 38 doubles, 23 home runs and 74 RBI while hitting an MLBleading 23 triples and stealing 20 bases. That year, he became one of four players in baseball history with at least 20 doubles, 20 triples, 20 steals and 20 home runs in a single season. (Jimmy Rollins in 2007, Willie Mays in 1957 and Frank Schulte in 1911 are the others.) The effort earned him AL MVP votes; he finished 10th in voting that year.
Granderson was one of the most electrifying center fielders in Comerica Park history, even if the dimensions of the area – that led to the nickname “Comerica National Park” – were initially discouraging.
“First time coming on the field here and getting asked, ‘Hey, do you think you could play center field here?’ ” Granderson said in 2019. “And this was before they had moved the fences in, and my thought process was, ‘There’s no chance’ – the flagpole is still out there and it’s 438 feet away.”
He was traded to the Yankees after the 2009 season in a threeteam deal that brought center fielder Austin Jackson, starting pitcher Max Scherzer and reliever Phil Coke to Detroit.
Granderson had back-toback 40-homer seasons with the Yankees in 2011 and 2012. He played for the Mets from 2014 to 2017, the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2017, the Milwaukee Brewers and Toronto Blue Jays in 2018 and the Miami Marlins in 2019.
In addition to his efforts on the field, Granderson was active in charities. He started the Grand Kids charity while with the Tigers in 2007 to help kids through “education, physical fitness and nutrition initiatives,” according to the charity’s website. Every November, the charity funds “Grand Giving,” a campaign and fundraiser to draw attention to food insecurity. The campaign has donated more than 35 million meals to children and families.
Granderson filled in as a studio analyst for TBS on the network’s broadcasts of the National League Championship Series in October, so a career in TV might beckon.
Nevertheless, Granderson still plans to be heavily involved in charity work.
“As I reflect on my career, I realize that not much has changed since those early days in Little League,” Granderson said in a statement. “My parents and family are still my greatest fans, and they impart the same message today that they did back then: Give back, never forget to enjoy the ride, and don’t think; have fun.”