Curtis Granderson picked up two more hits in last night’s 5-3 win over the Dodgers and is now batting .310 this month with a .372 on-base and an impressive .592 slugging. He’s walloped five homers in May to go with his 14 RBI and picked up his first triple of the season on Thursday night.
Granderson spoke to Jim Baumbach of Newsday after the game, and shared his frustration with fans who come to the games and boo their home team.
“I’ve always wanted to know why someone would boo, because in the next second they’ll cheer,” Granderson said. “So which one is it? You like your team or dislike your team? You call yourself a fan and then you’ll boo?”
“I understand you’re a fan, but at the same time, you aren’t playing,” he said. “I can see you getting that intense as a player or have played. But if you’re just a fan and watching, enjoy the excitement of the game that is in front of you, win, lose or draw, whatever the case is.”
He knows that Mets fans might boo him again someday, but told Baumbach he won’t take it to heart.
Granderson acknowledges that deep down the fans are passionate and loyal to their team, but that they just have an odd way of showing it sometimes.
May 21
Last night on SNY, Gary Cohen reported that Curtis Granderson has gone back to a pre-game drill that had been very successful for him during his time with the New York Yankees.
It was a home-run drill developed by Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long, and during yesterday’s batting practice, Granderson shared the home run drill with several teammates including Lucas Duda who homered in Tuesday night’s contest.
Also called the “Net Drill” it essentially involves placing a pitching screen over half of home plate, while throwing pitches underhand from about 30 feet away. It assists hitters in shortening their swing and enabling hitters to generate additional power from the lower half of their body. This is similar to the types of drills used often in the minors for players who have a very wide stance in an attempt to get them to close it up a little.
Of course there are dozens of different drills teams can use to help improve a hitter’s performance. And some may prove effective to select hitters while other hitters find more effective means that work for them.
Granderson ended up having a great game last night, falling a triple short of the cycle. He ended the evening going 3-for-5 with a single, a double, two runs scored, and a solo home run. With his three hits, Granderson was able to lift his batting average over the Mendoza Line for the first time this season to .205.
In his last ten games, Granderson is batting .297 with a .960 OPS in 41 plate appearances. During that span, he has four walks, two doubles, three home runs, six runs scored and seven RBIs.
I’m all for things like this especially when there is some success attached to it, and we know this was just that for Granderson when he was in the Bronx. Maybe one or two Mets hitters can find that same level of success with this home run drill as well.
