I think we can all agree that Curtis Granderson was without question the most valuable player of the Mets this season.
I have to be honest, going into this season my expectations for Granderson were pretty bleak. Coming off a 2014 season that saw him post career-lows in batting average (.227), slugging (.388) and WAR (1.2), I feared we had another Bay situation on our hands.
But I gotta give Granderson his due. He worked his tail off last offseason, arrived to camp in great shape, changed his entire approach at the plate, and when it was all over he posted the third best season of his solid 12 year career.
Granderson took over the leadoff spot for the Mets and became a catalyst for the Mets, seemingly finding himself in the middle of every rally and igniting many of them with either a walk, a hit, or a leadoff home run.
He finished the season with a .364 on-base percentage and .821 OPS while collecting 91 walks, 33 doubles, 26 home runs, 11 stolen bases, and 98 runs scored. His walk rate was the highest of his career and his 70 RBI out of the leadoff spot put an exclamation point on his overall offensive production which resulted in a 132 wRC+ and 5.1 WAR.
After the World Series, we learned that Granderson played with an injured left thumb that he jammed diving into second base during Game 3 of the NLCS at Wrigley Field.
“I knew I did something to it, I just didn’t know how bad it was,” Granderson told Dan Martin of the New York Post.
“It swelled up that night, before the clinching game in Chicago,” Granderson said. “But I taped it up, had an X-ray to make sure it wasn’t broken and then just kind of dealt with it.”
Granderson was still able to hit three homers in the World Series loss to the Royals, bad thumb and all. The morning after the Mets lost the series, an MRI revealed torn ligaments resulting in surgery for his ailing left thumb.
“I’m still in a brace now,” Granderson said. “But it’s coming along well. I’ll start working on range of motion soon and I should be ready to roll before too long.” The good news is that he is confident he will be fully healthy by spring training.
With the expected losses of Yoenis Cespedes and Daniel Murphy, the Mets will need Granderson to have a repeat performance in 2016. And while I had my doubts about him a year ago, I’m now confident that this class act and incredible athlete can be relied upon for another remarkable season in 2016. He’s made me a believer.
