Curtis Granderson

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Curtis Granderson
Detroit Tigers — No. 28
Center fielder
Bats: Left Throws: Right
Major League Baseball debut
September 13, 2004 for the Detroit Tigers
Selected MLB statistics
(through April 7, 2007)
Batting Average     .264
Home Runs     29
Runs Batted In     95
Stolen bases     9

Curtis Granderson (born March 16, 1981, in Blue Island, Illinois) is a center fielder in Major League Baseball who currently plays for the Detroit Tigers. Granderson grew up in Lynwood, Illinois, a south suburb of Chicago and began his baseball career in the town's Little League.

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[edit] High School career

Granderson attended high school at Thornton Fractional South High School in Lansing, Illinois. As a senior in 1999, Granderson hit .427 and was selected SICA Central All-Conference, as well earning All-Area recognition from the Illinois Times and the Daily Southtown.

[edit] College career

As a freshman at the University of Illinois-Chicago in 2000, Granderson led the team with 7 home runs and 45 walks. He followed that with a strong sophomore season in which he hit .304, leading the team in runs, home runs and walks. Granderson was named 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.

[edit] Professional career

[edit] Minor leagues

Having been drafted by the Tigers in the third round of the 2002 draft, Granderson started his minor league career with the Oneonta Tigers where he hit an impressive .344 in 52 games. The following season he again posted solid numbers, this time with the Lakeland Tigers, hitting .286 with 11 home runs and 51 RBI.

Playing for the Erie SeaWolves in 2004, Granderson was named the Tigers Minor League Player of the Year after having his best minor league season, hitting .303 with 21 home runs and 93 RBI. In addition, he was named to the Eastern League's post-season all-star squad and made Baseball America's Double A all-star team, earning him a late season call-up to the Tigers where he made his major league debut on September 13 against the Minnesota Twins.

Granderson started the 2005 season with the Toledo Mud Hens where he again posted terrific numbers, hitting .290 with 15 home runs, 65 RBIs and 22 stolen bases. In September he was again called to the majors and had an inside-the-park home run September 15, a five-hit game September 18 and a walkoff homer on September 26.

[edit] Detroit Tigers

Granderson became the Tigers' starting center fielder for the 2006 season after beating out teammate Nook Logan for the position during spring training. From the start of his major league career in 2004, Granderson had the longest errorless streak by a position player to start his career since Dave Roberts went 205 games from 1999-2003. He ended up hittting 2 homeruns during the playoffs.

[edit] Trivia

  • Granderson said on a local Detroit Interview that his best MLB moment was a ninth inning homerun against Cincinnati Reds pitcher D. Weathers. The homerun tied the game and the Tigers went on to win on an error by Reds shortstop F. Lopez. The game was played at Comerica Park on Saturday, May 20, 2006 to a sell-out attendance.
  • During an August, 2006 game an ESPN shot revealed that Granderson had written the words "Don't Think, Have Fun" on the underbill of his cap.

[edit] External links

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