Curtis Granderson has brought more to the New York Mets besides his power bat, keen eye at the plate, and his penchant for coming through in the clutch.
Granderson has the grand distinction of being an amateur videographer, in the social media aspect anyway. He along with Daniel Muno and John Mayberry Jr. started the Instagram feed “wefollowlucasduda” last July. It’s an homage to the man, the myth, the legend, Lucas Duda. The intent was to allow viewers into a behind the scenes look into the quiet and often stoic life of the Mets first baseman, offering candid access into the Mets cafeteria, clubhouse, and dugout to name a few. The trio of players felt that Duda needed a bit of a following, and wasn’t as popular as some of his other Met teammates.
To date, the Instagram page has 108,000 followers and 66 posts, not bad for something that was started in the middle of last year as a bit of a hoax. Granderson has the sole responsibility of keeping the page updated, as Mayberry Jr. was released by the Mets in late July, and Muno is currently in Las Vegas with the Mets Triple A affiliate. But taking a closer view at the Instagram feed, Granderson hasn’t disappointed.
Granderson appears to be quite the prankster in many of the videos he shoots of Duda. He’s always known to be such a bright and noble ambassador of the game, so it’s a breath of fresh air to see the different side Granderson brings, and apparently the sides that Duda has as well, no matter what the circumstance or situation he’s in.
In one video, Granderson is spying on Duda while getting a haircut, in another Granderson introduces Duda as the Player of the Week, and demands Duda fork over his watch.
Granderson can also act as a voyeur, peering in from afar as Duda is getting his socks on, or breaking in a glove. He includes photos of Duda from his teenage years, and just looks for any way to thoroughly embarrass the man. Duda for his part, is a good sport throughout most of the videos.
In another series of funny posts, Granderson voices and mimics Duda through his LEGO figurine, even having him interact with other LEGO teammates.
Recently we’ve seen Granderson with a MLB approved iPad Pro in the dugout, filming Duda as he comes back to the dugout after hitting a home run. On Monday night, after Duda homered, the camera crew for SNY caught Granderson holding up his iPad right in front of Duda as he received congratulatory praise and high fives. As soon as Duda approached Granderson in the dugout, he faked a punch to the iPad, as Granderson took a step back. Surely this will be another post on the ever-growing Instagram feed.
Granderson had the iPad out again Wednesday, after Duda blasted his sixth and seventh home runs of the season. With MLB approving and supplying iPad Pros to every team so that they can have access to the endless supply of data and information at their disposal, this was sure to be great news for Granderson. Before Granderson would his cellphone to film the various clips of Duda. With cellphones banned from the dugout, Granderson has the chance to bring fans even closer to the action with the iPad, and bring them up close and personal with “the Duda man” as he charmingly calls him in the videos.
Commissioner Rob Manfred has been a proponent of the new analytic movement baseball has been gearing towards in recent years. It’s a big emergence in the game, and one the commissioner is welcoming with open arms.
“I started in this game 25 years ago and the single biggest change has been the emergence and predominance of analytics,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred tells the WSJ. “It affects the way we judge players, make decisions on the field and the way fans consume the game.” Apple’s marketing SVP Phil Schiller says “We’re not just replacing binders with tablets, we’re actually helping them do things that weren’t possible before.”
If you want to stay up to date on all things Lucas Duda, follow @wefollowlucasduda.
