Curtis Granderson is Having an MVP Type Season

New York Yankees centerfielder Curtis Granderson hit a pair of home runs as the Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles 8-3 in the second game of a doubleheader August 28th.  Granderson leads the majors with 38 home runs; he also leads the majors in RBIs (107), and runs scored (121, 26 more than his closest pursuer).  He’s second in both the majors and the American League in slugging percentage at .595, and he leads the American League in triples with 10.

Granderson has already set career highs in home runs and RBIs, and is one away from tying his career best in runs scored.  His 24 stolen bases are just two fewer than his career high in that category.  This is all happening relatively quietly for someone who plays in New York, where the hype surrounding Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter often pushes everyone else aside.  Granderson is not one who toots his own horn very much either.

However, the kinds of numbers Granderson puts up cannot be ignored.  When Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander won his 20th game of the season recently, a lot of people were saying that he should be not only the American League Cy Young Award winner (he’s an absolute lock for it) but the league’s Most Valuable Player as well.   That has happened nine times in the past, generally when a pitcher’s performance has been so extraordinary that it overshadows the best performances by hitters.  This is not the case with the kind of year Granderson is having.  As Dick Vitale recently tweeted, “Tired of talk about Verlander 4 MVP as HE IS MR CY YOUNG! That is the award 4 pitchers. MVP = @cgrand14 an EVERYDAY PLAYER!”

Sometimes you’re hot, sometimes you’re not, and Curtis Granderson is smokin’ red hot.

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Tags: baseball, curtis, new york yankees