Curtis Granderson

Curtis Granderson Jr. (born March 16, 1981), nicknamed "the Grandyman", is an American former professional baseball outfielder.

He played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, Toronto Blue Jays, Milwaukee Brewers, and Miami Marlins.

Granderson played college baseball at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

As a freshman at UIC in 2000, Granderson led the UIC Flames baseball team with seven home runs and 45 walks.

He followed that by hitting .304 as a sophomore, leading the team in runs, home runs, and walks.

After his sophomore year, Granderson played in a summer collegiate league for the Mankato Mashers, now known as the MoonDogs, of the Northwoods League, where he batted .328 in 44 games, with eight doubles, two triples, one home run, 17 RBI, 28 runs scored, and 15 stolen bases.

He wore the number 28, which the MoonDogs retired on May 29, 2023.

During his junior season at UIC, Granderson batted .483, second in the nation to Rickie Weeks.

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.

He graduated from UIC with a double major in business administration and business marketing.

He was selected by the Tigers in the 2002 MLB draft.

The Detroit Tigers selected Granderson in the third round of the 2002 MLB draft.

The Tigers assigned Granderson to the Oneonta Tigers, their Minor League Baseball affiliate in the Class A-Short Season New York-Penn League.

With Oneonta, Granderson batted .344 in 52 games.

Determined to complete his college education, though the fall semester began before the minor league season ended, Granderson made arrangements to begin his senior year at UIC via internet courses.

The Tigers assigned Granderson to the Lakeland Tigers of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League in 2003 and the Erie SeaWolves of the Class AA Eastern League in 2004.

With the SeaWolves, Granderson hit .303 with 21 home runs and 93 RBIs.

He made his MLB debut with the Tigers in 2004.

Baseball America named Granderson the Tigers' minor league player of the year and top prospect after the 2004 season.

Prior to the 2005 season, Baseball America rated Granderson as the 57th best prospect in baseball.

Granderson competed for the role as the Tigers' starting center fielder in 2005 spring training, but the organization decided he needed more seasoning, and assigned him to the Toledo Mud Hens of the Class AAA International League.

With Toledo, he hit .290 with 15 home runs, 65 RBIs and 22 stolen bases.

Granderson is a three-time MLB All-Star, and won a Silver Slugger Award in 2011.

T.F. South honored Granderson by retiring his jersey in a December 2011 ceremony.

Granderson was recruited by a number of college baseball programs, and he chose the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), in part because they allowed him to play basketball in addition to baseball.

However, Granderson quit basketball two weeks into his freshman year in order to concentrate on baseball.

On February 6, 2013 Granderson had his number 28 retired by UIC.

Granderson won the Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award four times and the Roberto Clemente Award in 2016 in recognition of his contributions in the community.

Granderson grew up in Blue Island, Illinois, and Lynwood, Illinois, south suburbs of Chicago.

His father, Curtis Sr., was a dean and physical education teacher at Nathan Hale Elementary School in Illinois.

His mother, Mary, taught chemistry at Curie Metropolitan High School in Chicago.

Granderson's half-sister, Monica, is an English professor at Jackson State University.

As a child, Granderson grew up a fan of the Atlanta Braves, choosing not to root for the hometown Chicago Cubs because he often rushed home from school to watch Saved by the Bell and was disappointed when a Cubs game was on instead.

Granderson attended Thornton Fractional South High School (T.F. South) in Lansing, where he played baseball and basketball.

During his high school baseball career, Granderson batted .369 with 11 home runs and 88 runs batted in (RBI), and was named an All-State selection his senior year.

Granderson wore uniform number 14 at T.F. South, choosing it because his father wore it while playing softball.

He retired after the 2019 season.

Off the field, Granderson is recognized for his commitment to the community through outreach and charity work.

Many of his charitable endeavors support inner-city children.

He has also served as an ambassador for MLB abroad.