Curtis Granderson
Maybe one day, we will look back at Mets history and say Jeff McNeil was the best Mets player to ever wear the number 6. In fact, you could say he is just one good season away from that honor. However, for now, the best Mets player to ever wear that number was Wally Backman.
Backman would make his debut the same day as Mookie Wilson, and it was really just a function of the batting order that Mookie stepped on the field before he did. Whatever the technicalities, the day he and Mookie stepped on the field that September day was the day the greatest run in Mets history was born.
Even with his making his debut as a 20 year old in 1980, it would take Backman a few years to truly establish himself as a member of the Mets. Finally, in 1984, Backman would establish himself as an everyday player. He would be there at second base when that Mets team would go from a 94 loss team in 1983 to a team which won 90 games in 1984 and made a real run at the NL East.
From that point forward, Backman would slate into the second spot in the lineup. He was the old fashioned second place hitter reminiscent of that era. He was a hard nosed player. He was a bit of a slasher more focused on getting on and getting the runners over. As an example of that, in 1985, Backman led the NL in sacrifices.
Backman was looked upon as a fiery personality which matched well with that 1986 team. Speaking of that 1986 Mets, Backman was part of that team who fought tooth and nail to win that pennant. Backman’s fingerprints would be all over that series.
In Game 3, with the Mets trailing 5-4, it was Backman who led off the bottom of the ninth with a drag bunt. He would ultimately score the tying run when Lenny Dykstra would hit the first walk-off homer in Mets postseason history.
in Game 6 in Houston to prevent the team from seeing Mike Scott in Game 7. Through all the hysteria that was that game, one thing which gets overlooked a bit is the fact Backman was thought to have delivered the pennant winning hit with a 14th inning single scoring Darryl Strawberry.
Backman would again be in the middle of things in the 16th. In that inning, he’d draw a walk after Ray Knight‘s go-ahead RBI single. Later that inning, he would score a run, again on a key Dykstra hit. Backman’s run would prove to be the pennant winning run.
Ultimately, that’s what Backman was known for throughout his career. He was a fiery winning player. During that time, he won over Mets fans, who to this day, largely want him to have a role in the organization. On that note, when he did return to manage in the minors, he left a lasting impact on much of the current core, including but not limited to, Brandon Nimmo.
Overall, Backman holds a special place in Mets history even with all of the off-the-field issues. When looking at his contributions, it is hard to argue that as of right now anyone else was a better Mets player who wore the number 6.
Editor’s Note: This is part of a series highlighting the best players in Mets history by highlighting the best Mets player to wear a particular uniform number. In this case, this is not saying Backman was the sixth best player in Mets history, but rather the best Mets player to wear the number 6.
Previous
1.Mookie Wilson
2.Mackey Sasser
3. Curtis Granderson
4. Lenny Dykstra
5. David Wright
Aside from Tom Seaver, David Wright is quite arguably the best Mets player to ever don a Mets uniform, let alone the number five. Wright was so great during his career, John Olerud‘s named doesn’t even come into consideration.
The Mets drafted Wright with the compensation pick they received from the Colorado Rockies signing Mike Hampton. With Wright, the Mets drafted a player who grew up a Mets fan and would do everything he could do to ensure he would only wear a Mets uniform in his career.
No matter what you say about Wright isn’t enough. He was a real five tool player who was a seven time All-Star, two time Gold Glove winner, and a two-time Silver Slugger. The Gold Glove may be a misnomer as it was his hands that were pure gold.
Really, Wright did whatever he could do to improve as a player. He worked with boyhood idol Howard Johnson to put together the last 30/30 season in Mets history. On that note, he has just about every offensive record in Mets team history. That includes his putting together one of, if not THE best, ever campaign in Mets history in 2007.
While the story of the 2007 Mets was collapse, that was not Wright’s story. In September of that year, he hit .352/.432/.602. In the ensuing year, he hit .340/.416/.577. That was Wright in a nutshell. He was always there when his team needed him, and his contributions were overlooked across baseball. Still, even as a young player, he was a leader and the type of player you built your team around.
While Wright was a known commodity and superstar, many finally took notice during the 2013 World Baseball Classic that everyone seemed to take notice of what every Mets fan had known for nearly a decade. David Wright was clutch and a great baseball player who was the one of the absolute best players in the game.
During that WBC, he would become known as Captain America. It was not too long thereafter he would simply be known as Captain. Seemingly days after, he was named Mets captain joining Keith Hernandez, Gary Carter, and John Franco as the only Mets to receive that honor.
Mostly, when we look at Wright he was the player who stayed. After it was him and Jose Reyes igniting the Mets in 2006 and taking this team to the precipice of a World Series, it was just him as the Mets rebuilt around him. He would still play at a high level, and he would join Matt Harvey as starters for the 2013 All-Star Game at Citi Field.
After all the losing at Citi Field, he appeared ready to lead the Mets to their first postseason in nearly a decade. Instead, he suffered what was effectively a career ending injury. While it effectively ended his career, it would not take 2015 away from him.
Wright overcame the spinal stenosis to homer in his return to baseball in an August 24 game against the Phillies. He would slide home pumping his fist scoring a key run against the Nationals in a huge comeback victory. He was there in Cincinnati celebrating with his teammates as they won the sixth NL East title in team history.
In Game 1 of the NLDS, he had the game winning two RBI single off Pedro Baez in the seventh to help Jacob deGrom and the Mets take the first game in what would be an epic five game series. Aside from Game 3 of the NLCS, Wright’s bat mostly went silent after that game, but it would come alive again in the first ever World Series game played at Citi Field:
This side of Mike Piazza, that was about as uplifting and dramatic a home run you will ever see. Even with the Mets losing that series and with him being unable to play more than 37 games in 2016 before really shutting it down forever, even if he did desperately try to return, Wright would have one last Citi Field moment.
Mets fans came out and sold out Citi Field in a completely lost season to say good-bye to Wright. Everything he did was cheered loudly. He was so loved that Pete O’Brien will forever be scorned by Mets fans for not letting a foul pop up drop in Wright’s final plate appearance.
As Wright left the field that day, Mets fans teared up a bit and reminisced about a great career. There were the big hits including the walk-off against Mariano Rivera. There was his rise to stardom in 2006 finishing second to just Ryan Howard in the Home Run Derby. He wore that ginormous helmet after being beaned by Matt Cain. Again, he did anything to play.
Through it all, Wright had a Hall of Fame caliber playing career making him easily the best position player the Mets ever developed. He’s easily the best player to have his entire career with the Mets. He will soon have his number retired. With a little luck, he will be inducted into Cooperstown.
But for now, he is the best Mets player to ever wear the number 5.
Editor’s Note: This is part of a series highlighting the best players in Mets history by highlighting the best Mets player to wear a particular uniform number. In this case, this is not saying Wright was the fifth best player in Mets history, but rather the best Mets player to wear the number 5.
Previous
1.Mookie Wilson
2.Mackey Sasser
3. Curtis Granderson
4. Lenny Dykstra
The number four has had a number of folk heroes and fan favorites in Mets history. The first was Ron Swoboda with his diving catch catch robbing Brooks Robinson of a hit in the 1969 World Series. There was Rusty Staub who gallantly fought while injured for the 1973 Mets.
Robin Ventura had the Grand Slam single, and Wilmer Flores has more walk-off hits than anyone in Mets history. Even with all of these Mets greats, when it comes to the number four, Lenny Dykstra was the best player to ever wear the number.
While he was first called-up in 1985, Dykstra would first establish that as the case during the 1986 season. In that season, Dykstra was pressed into action as an everyday player when Mookie Wilson suffered a Spring Training injury. We would soon find out that not only was Dykstra up to the task, but he would emerge as the Mets second best position player that season (by WAR).
It was more than his numbers. He presented a fire and grit for this Mets team (not that they needed it), and we would see exactly why he had the nickname Nails. Of all the special things Dykstra had done that year, he would save his best work for the postseason – something that would become the hallmark of his career.
In Game 3 of the NLCS against the Houston Astros, the Mets were facing going down 2-1 in the series with Mike Scott slated to start Game 4 and Nolan Ryan in Game 5, the 108 win Mets team was in real trouble. They could not lose this game. Ultimately, they wouldn’t as Dykstra would become the first ever Mets player to hit a walk-off homer in Mets postseason history:
Overall, Dykstra would hit .304/.360/.565 with a double, triple, homer, and three RBI. In a series where the Mets offense really struggled against the Astros pitching, especially the top of their rotation, it was Dykstra who helped keep the Mets afloat for their late inning miracle rallies. Really, next to the pitchers, Dykstra was unarguably the best player for either team in the series, and to some extent, he deserved the MVP award.
Just like he did in Game 3 against the Astros, Dykstra again game up huge in Game 3 of the World Series. After that emotional NLCS, they found themselves down 2-0 heading to Fenway. The Mets were in deep trouble. However, Dykstra would revitalize that Mets team leading off the game with a home run off Oil Can Boyd:
To some extent, that moment would be somewhat tainted by allegations Ron Darling made towards Dykstra. Overall, the off-the-field stuff during his career (steroids) and after his career, marred Dykstra. However, when he played, he was a terrific player who always came up big in big moments.
Again, in the 1986 World Series, Dykstra was terrific hitting .296/.345/.519. From there, he would find himself splitting time with Wilson with the Mets obtaining Kevin McReynolds in an offseason trade with the San Diego Padres. When Dykstra got to play, he was a very good player on the field.
He would again be great in the postseason. In a losing effort, Dykstra was phenomenal hitting .429/.600/.857 with three doubles, a homer, and three RBI. Just like two years prior, pitchers aside, Dysktra was very clearly the best position player on the field.
Seeing how he played in that series and in his Mets career, it is a wonder to everyone as to exactly why Dykstra would be traded during the ensuing season to the Philadelphia Phillies along with Roger McDowell for Juan Samuel. There are not enough ways to describe just how epic a blunder this was for the Mets. This was a franchise altering decision for the Mets and Phillies.
Ultimately, the one thing you can always say about Dykstra was the Mets were always better with him. He was always prepared for the biggest moments on the biggest stage in the biggest city in the world. While he was far from a perfect person, he was the perfect player to play in New York, and if not for him, it is likely we are talking about the Mets only having won one World Series in their history.
Editor’s Note: This is part of a series highlighting the best players in Mets history by highlighting the best Mets player to wear a particular uniform number. In this case, this is not saying Granderson was the third best player in Mets history, but rather the best Mets player to wear the number 3.
Previous
Back in the day, we have talked about how Keith Hernandez was the player the Mets acquired who provided leadership to a young Mets team to help them fulfill their full potential and become World Series champions. To a certain extent, Curtis Granderson did the same thing for the 2015 Mets team.
Granderson made himself a friend to Mets fans everywhere by saying, “I’ve heard true New Yorkers are Mets fans.” He would do far more than that in his career to forever endear himself to Mets fans.
It wasn’t that way immediately as Granderson would struggle much in the same way many Mets players did in their first year with the Mets. There could be a number of reasons why that happened, including but not limited to the original cavernous configuration of Citi Field.
They fixed the ballpark in the offseason, and Granderson was more comfortable as a member of the Mets. That would show in his play on the field and in how much of a leadership role he would take. That leadership was needed in a season where David Wright left a void with his career altering injury.
Speaking of injuries, at times, Granderson seemed like the lone professional bat in the Mets lineup. The team had squandered an early season lead. It was basically Granderson and the starting pitching staff keeping the Mets afloat until the regulars got healthy, and Sandy Alderson brought in reinforcements.
In that 2015 season, Granderson led the Mets position players in WAR, and he was second in wRC+. He was also a finalist for the Gold Glove in right field. Looking at it, he was really doing everything the team needed from him. Not only did his contributions during the time the Mets were struggling to keep their head above water, so were his contributions in the stretch run.
While Yoenis Cespedes did receive much of the credit, Granderson had the second highest WAR and wRC+ on the team during that stretch where the Mets went from a pivotal series against the Nationals to winning the division by seven games.
Granderson was great in the NLDS against the Dodgers when they needed everything this team had to beat them. That included him having a five RBI game in Game 3. In Game 5, he led off the game with an infield single, and he scored from first on a Daniel Murphy double giving the Mets an early 1-0 lead in a game they’d eventually win 3-2.
Granderson had his best performance in the World Series, and in an alternate universe, he likely would’ve been the World Series MVP. That began with Game 1 where, if not for Alex Gordon hitting a two out homer against Jeurys Familia in the bottom of the ninth, he would’ve had a key home run which tied the game propelling the Mets to victory.
In that series, he would hit three homers, each of which would tie the game or give the Mets the lead. That includes his electrifying homer in Game 3, the only game the Mets won in that series:
Granderson helped lead the Mets that game like he did all season. He homered again in Game 5, and for a moment, it appeared like that was going to force a Game 6, but we know how it all ended.
In 2016, Granderson did not have the same impact, but he was once again an important player. By WAR, he was the team’s third best player. However, it was more than that. When the team needed him to move down the lineup to bat clean-up, he did. With Cespedes and Michael Conforto dealing with injuries, and the team adding Jay Bruce at the trade deadline, Granderson shifted to center field because that’s what the team needed him to do, and he did whatever the team needed. For a moment, he made a dazzling play in the Wild Card Game which, now, is very Endy Chavez-esque:
As we know, Granderson is much more than just a ballplayer. He won the Roberto Clemente Award for his charitable work during his time in New York. Actually, it was for all he had done in his career. He’s also won the Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award four times, which is two more than anyone else in Major League history. Overall, he was such a good ballplayer and even better person that they should build a wing in the Hall of Fame for people like him.
When you look at players in Mets history who have worn the number 3, none have had a bigger impact on and off the field. If not for Babe Ruth, you might’ve been able to say that for all of baseball history.
Editor’s Note: This is part of a series highlighting the best players in Mets history by highlighting the best Mets player to wear a particular uniform number. In this case, this is not saying Granderson was the third best player in Mets history, but rather the best Mets player to wear the number 3.
Previous
There are a number of reasons why it was overlooked, but MLB‘s announcement of a joint $1 million donation with the MLBPA to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and every team wearing a uniform patch honoring the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Negro Leagues on June 27 was overlooked. Worse than being overlooked, it is not enough.
Major League Baseball owed the Negro Leagues a debt of gratitude for producing players like Jackie Robinson, Larry Doby, Willie Mays, and Hank Aaron. They also owe players like Josh Gibson and Cool Papa Bell an apology for never being able to prove they were the greatest on the biggest stage in the world.
In baseball history, the Negro Leagues are both a source of pride and shame. The pride comes from their proving anyone, no matter their background, race, or heritage, can be great at baseball. The shame is that another league needed to be created to prove this because of the disturbingly named “Gentleman’s Agreement” to keep black players out of baseball.
Because of that decision, we missed out on seeing the great careers of many black players. We did not get to see Satchel Paige face batters in a Major League Game until he was 41 years old. Think about that. At a time when he should have been retiring, he was just a rookie. All because of the agreement to keep black players out of baseball.
With that decision, not only did the black players lose, but we, as fans, and historians of the game lost. Much like we ponder how Pedro Martinez would have fared against players like Lou Gehrig, we are left to wonder how Smokey Joe Williams would have fared against Babe Ruth.
The obvious difference between the two were Williams and Ruth were contemporaries. They should have faced each other in a game, or quite possibly, have been teammates. However, they couldn’t because of small minded people. That necessitated the creation of the Negro Leagues, and for that, we should eternally grateful for the Negro Leagues as they kept baseball alive in the black community.
For a number of reasons, that is something baseball is struggling to do. For years now, baseball has tried to regrow the game in the black community, and it bemoans how few black players there are. Last year, USA Today noted only 7.7% of players were black, there were 11 teams who did not have more than one black player, and three teams who dd not have one black player.
One of those three teams was Jackie Robinson’s Dodgers. Of course, that does overlook their manager, Dave Roberts, and that has changed with the Dodgers obtaining Mookie Betts and David Price from the Boston Red Sox.
Perhaps the next time MLB questions why there are so few fans, they should focus their attention to what they are doing to drive interest in the game. Better put, they should focus on what they are not doing.
This year, they are not doing all they can do to honor the Negro Leagues. The Negro Leagues are an extremely important part of baseball history. In the centennial celebration of the founding of the Negro Leagues, Major League Baseball needed to do more than Jackie Robinson Day on April 15, and Negro Leagues Day on June 27.
This needs to be a year-round celebration. If it wasn’t already planned, MLB should make a push to promote and celebrate players like Betts, Price, Marcus Stroman, and many more players. In addition to donating $1 million the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, they should be hiring former players like Curtis Granderson to find ways to reach out and grow the game.
After all, Granderson has done his part to help grow the game through his charitable endeavors. In fact, he helped build Illinois’ baseball stadium, which is used not just for the college’s baseball team but also for youth events.
The 100th anniversary of the Negro Leagues should be celebrated and used as an opportunity to grow the game. It demanded much more than $1 million, which is a paltry sum from MLB and the MLBPA, and more than just a day. This should be a year long celebration with patches appearing on the jerseys of every Major League team throughout the season.
This isn’t just an opportunity to honor and frankly apologize to baseball legends. No, it is also an opportunity to educate and grow the game. By not investing more in the Negro Leagues memory, using this as a launching pad to invest more in the game at the youth level, and not honoring these players all year long, baseball is missing an opportunity here.
Baseball needs to be better and do better. In that sense, perhaps that is the best way to remember the Negro Leagues because it would never have existed in the first place if people were better and strived to do better.
Since David Wright has retired, there has been some question over who should be the next captain of the New York Mets, or even if there should ever be another captain. In the event the Mets do ever seek to name a new captain, they have a roster full of homegrown players who could step up and be exactly that leader the next Mets captain needs to be.
The popular choice is Pete Alonso. That choice is inspired, and Alonso has shown himself worthy. In addition to a record setting rookie season, he showed himself to be a great teammate by and through his friendship with Dominic Smith, and he showed true leadership with the 9/11 cleats.
Another very worthy candidate is Michael Conforto.
In his five year career, Conforto has seen it all. He was the phenom how helped the Mets win the 2015 pennant. He was there for the Mets tearing down that roster to build it back up. He has handled his own injury problems, and he has been bounced around the outfield to suit the Mets needs.
He’s been a future superstar, a platoon player, a bust, an All Star, a what could’ve been, and finally, a good baseball player again who is a part of a team who could win the World Series.
More than anyone, Conforto knows what it is like being a Met when times are a good and when times are bad. In some ways, he had a career arc not too different than what we saw with David Wright, albeit on a truncated and less dramatic scale. On that note, Conforto was there when Wright battled back from spinal stenosis, and he was there to learn from him.
Conforto was also there learning from other leaders like Jay Bruce, Michael Cuddyer, and Curtis Granderson. In fact, when Bruce and Granderson were traded away in 2017, it was Conforto who initially had to step up and fill the leadership void, something which became difficult as he dealt with a potentially career ending surgery.
It has become quite clear Conforto learned from people like Bruce, Cuddyer, Granderson, and Wright.
Right now, the biggest issue in baseball has been the sign stealing. That scandal has impacted the Mets as they have already lost a manager in Carlos Beltran before he even managed a game. One of their best pitchers, Marcus Stroman, has been quite vocal in his issues with the Astros sign stealing. While we haven’t seen public statements, there are reports Jacob deGrom and Edwin Diaz are similarly angry.
With J.D. Davis and Jake Marisnick having been part of that 2017 Astros team, that could be very problematic for this Mets clubhouse. That is an even bigger issue with Marisnick doubling off Stroman in a specific game Stroman commented saying the Astros were “Ruining the integrity of the game.”
This is the type of situation which begs for someone to step up and tackle this issue before it is a problem either in the clubhouse or publicly. Right away, Conforto has stepped up and tried to take control of the message:
Michael Conforto said there won’t be any animosity from Mets teammates toward 2017 Astros Jake Marisnick and J.D. Davis.
“But I’m sure there will be conversations about it.”
Conforto was clear that the Astros crossed a line, but he won’t hold it against Marisnick/Davis.
— Tim Healey (@timbhealey) February 11, 2020
This is exactly what you need from a captain of your team. You need someone to have the savvy to disspell any notion of internal strife and have the status in the clubhouse to make sure that this will in fact be the case. In that statement, we see while he may not be the captain, Conforto remains a leader in that Mets clubhouse.
Conforto has indicated he loves being a Met, and he would be open to a contract extension. If the Mets step up and make him a Met for life, it would be fitting to also named him the next captain in team history as he is showing he is a leader, knows how to handle everything which has come the Mets way, and ultimately, he is the type of player and person who would make a good captain.
With Major League Baseball’s new rules, teams can only carry 13 pitchers, and seeing how the Mets have operated the past few seasons, the Mets will very likely carry 13 pitchers in 2020. With the five man rotation, this means the Mets will have an eight man bullpen.
Right now, barring injury, the Mets have Edwin Diaz, Seth Lugo, Dellin Betances, Jeurys Familia, Justin Wilson, and Brad Brach as absolute locks for the Opening Day bullpen. That is going to leave two bullpen spots open with one of them going to the pitcher who loses the bullpen battle. That pitcher is most likely going to be Michael Wacha.
That is where things begin to get a bit interesting.
On the surface, it would seem Robert Gsellman has an inside track for the last bullpen job. After all, he has been a reliever for each of the past two seasons. However, he has not performed well out of the bullpen with an 87 ERA+ and 4.03 FIP over that stretch. When you combine the Mets wanting him to spend the offseason working as a starter, you wonder if a pitcher who still has options remaining will begin the year in Triple-A as a starter.
On the topic of options, Jacob Rhame is out of options, and the Mets will have to expose him to waivers if they are going to keep him in the organization.
Rhame is coming off a season where he had ulnar transposition surgery. That is the same surgery Jacob deGrom underwent in 2016. In his first year after the surgery, deGrom was a good starting pitcher, and in the ensuing two years he emerged as the best pitcher in baseball.
Now, that is obviously not Rhame’s ceiling. However, we do see after undergoing that surgery a pitcher can reach their full potential. While many may debate what exactly that is for Rhame, the Mets clearly have some interest in finding out as they have kept him throughout this offseason despite fully knowing he is out of options.
With Rhame having a career 6.23 MLB ERA and a Triple-A 4.05 ERA, you have to wonder what exactly the Mets are seeing in him.
Looking at Baseball Savant, Rhame throws in the mid-90s, and back in 2018, before he needed the transposition surgery, he had above average movement on that fastball. While he did not get much vertical movement on his splitter, it had very good horizontal movement, which is part of the reason why it was a swing-and-miss pitch for him.
Ultimately, that is what the Mets see in Rhame – his potential. Since the day they obtained him from Curtis Granderson, they knew they were getting a big arm with relatively untapped potential. He still has the ability to generate strikeouts, and as we saw with Rhys Hoskins, he has a bit of a nasty streak where he won’t back down or take anything from the opponent.
Based on what we have seen this offseason, the Mets are going to allow Rhame to work with new pitching coach Jeremy Hefner to show his potential can yield results. Presumably, he is going to get an opportunity to show the Mets he is a better option in the bullpen than Gsellman, who may belong in the rotation, or Walker Lockett, who is also out of options.
In the end, the Mets have kept Rhame around for a reason. Perhaps, that reason is to have him be a part of the 2020 Opening Day roster. With pitchers and catchers reporting soon, he is going to get the opportunity to prove he belongs.
The National Baseball Hall of Fame is home to some of the worst human beings you can find. This despite the character clause being one of the considerations voters must take into account.
Cap Anson was one of the driving forces behind the ill-named “Gentleman’s Agreement” which attempted to keep black players out of baseball. He also went out of his way to personally vet the races of players to see who should and should not be allowed to share the field with him.
However, because he had 3,435 hits, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1939.
There are other Hall of Famers of dubious character like Ty Cobb (even if some of what was once believed has been dispelled). However, players like Cobb had the production on the field.
Then, there’s Tom Yawkey who was inducted for nothing other than owning the Boston Red Sox for 44 years. In that time, he fought against integration with the Red Sox being the absolute last team to sign a black player. During his time, Yawkey helped commit other vile acts like helping cover up sexual assaults.
At the end of the day, it’s difficult to reconcile having a Hall of Fame with people like Anson alongside truly great human beings like Roberto Clemente.
More to the point, it’s really difficult to reconcile a Hall of Fame which has a Tom Yawkey, but not a Curtis Granderson.
You could make a case for Granderson on the field. After all, he was a better player than center fielders in the Hall of Fame like Hack Wilson, Edd Roush, Hugh Duffy, and Lloyd Waner.
His 115 wRC+ is higher than Hall of Famers like Robin Yount and Cal Ripken, Jr.
As noted by MMO‘s Michael Mayer, Granderson joins a group including Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, and George Brett as the only four players in Major League history who have “at least 90 triples, 150 stolen bases, 315 homers, and .330 OBP.”
Despite these accomplishments, it’s unlikely Granderson gets inducted into the Hall of Fame as a player. However, that does not mean there isn’t room for him in the Hall of Fame.
Granderson is the only player in Major League history to be named the Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award four times. That’s two more than anyone else.
Granderson joins Hall of Famers Jim Thome and John Smoltz as the only people to win multiple Marvin Miller Awards and the Roberto Clemente Award.
Through his Grand Kids Foundation, Granderson has provided over 35 million meals to families in need and over $3.5 million to food banks. He’s also run summer camps and helped build facilitates to help expose children to baseball and a healthy lifestyle. This is just the tip of the iceberg on what he’s done to help people.
That includes his $5 million donation to the University of Illinois which was the largest donation an athlete has ever made to his alma mater. In addition to being used for Illinois baseball games, the field is also used for “hosting several area little league teams for games, camps and clinics.”
Through it all, Granderson is as good a human being as there has ever been to don a Major League uniform. When you combine on the field success with his off the field endeavors, he may be second only to Clemente.
When the Hall of Fame has wings which honor broadcasters and writers by name and displays baseball related art, there should be room to honor truly great human beings who have played the game.
More to the point, there needs to be room in the Hall of Fame for people like Curtis Granderson. It’s incumbent upon baseball to not let what he’s done fade away decades from now.
No, the Curtis Grandersons of this world are true role models, and baseball should honor them and uphold them as an ideal much like they do with people inducted as players. There’s room for a humanitarian wing. Let it be named after Roberto Clemente, and five years from now, let Granderson be the wing’s first inductee.
In the aftermath of the penalties levied on the Houston Astros for the sign stealing scandal, the team made the right decision in hiring Dusty Baker as their new manager. Based on his experience, he was the best man for the job.
In San Francisco, he had to deal with the strife between Barry Bonds and Jeff Kent. That was nothing compared to Washington.
Baker took over for Matt Williams in the season after the Nationals saw Jonathan Papelbon choke Bryce Harper in the dugout. Even with the Nationals beginning the following season with both players on the roster, Baker would lead the team to consecutive NL East titles.
In sum, Baker can handle these situations adeptly. Arguably, there is no one better than him to handle him. However, seeing this Astros team in action recently, it may not be enough.
Public comments made by Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, and Justin Verlander were not well received publicly. From a player perspective, this is an organization flailing, and looking at their roster, they don’t really have a veteran who can help guide them through this process and to be a spokesman for the team.
This is a team who needs Curtis Granderson.
Between his time with the Yankees and Mets, he’s experienced it all. He was there for the drama between Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez. To that end, he was also with the Yankees and A-Rod dealing with the Biogenesis scandal.
With the Mets, he dealt with the Matt Harvey drama. He was there for Scott Boras causing a stir saying the Mets should shut him down. He was there when Harvey missed a postseason workout and was suspended by the team for not showing up to the clubhouse.
There was the news cycles created when Harvey was sick, and there was Harvey’s struggles with TOS.
Granderson was also with the Mets when the team brought back Jose Reyes after his domestic violence suspension.
Overall, Granderson has seen just about everything in his time with the Mets and Yankees. Through it all, he has been on teams facing intense media scrutiny which only heightened with scandal and team drama.
There may not be anyone better able to help those Astros players through what they’re about to experience.
More than that, this is clearly an Astros team whose public image has been destroyed. They’re easily the most reviled organization in baseball and perhaps in all of sports.
Yuli Gurriel made a racist gesture purportedly mocking Yu Darvish during the 2017 World Series.
They traded for Roberto Osuna. It went lower when Brandon Taubman harassed female reporters following the ALCS. Now, suspicions of their cheating have been confirmed leading to the firing of Jeff Luhnow and AJ Hinch.
Every time an Astros player opens their mouth they come across as smug and out of touch. At the moment, none of their players appear likable, and those who once did, now look like hypocrites.
There is no one more genuine and likable than Granderson. He’s a three time Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award, and he’s won the Roberto Clemente Award for his extensive charitable work.
Granderson would go a long way towards restoring credibility in that organization, and it would go a long way towards helping those players who simply don’t have a clue. That’s important because they’re going to face more media scrutiny this year than they ever have.
With teams having an extra roster spot this year, it makes all the more sense. Keep in mind, Granderson showed last year he has something left in the tank with his still having sufficient speed to be backup outfielder and his having a .829 OPS as a pinch hitter.
Overall, the Astros need help getting their team through this season from a PR perspective. Hiring Dusty Baker was a very good first step. Now, they need to sign Granderson.