Curtis Granderson had a 2014 to forget. The season was an up and down campaign for him that ultimately was an underwhelming disappointment.
He was brought in by Sandy Alderson after the 2013 season to provide some much needed pop to the lineup, and to finally give David Wright some protection. Terry Collins originally slotted him into the cleanup spot before his struggles began and Lucas Duda emerged as such a power threat.
Granderson didn’t come close to playing up to expectations, batting .227 while smacking just 20 home runs and driving in 66 runs. That isn’t what you expect out of your biggest offseason signing. But perhaps everything wasn’t as bad as it seems.
Outside of the months of April and August, Granderson batted close to a respectable .270. Unfortunately, you can’t just take those months out of the equation if you are going to evaluate someone’s season. You especially can’t in this case where Curtis looked absolutely lost at the plate during those stretches. However, we should keep in mind that Granderson’s underperformance last year came on the heels of an injury-plagued season where he missed nearly two-thirds of the 2013 season.
Coming into 2015, those around the Mets are hopeful that Granderson can recapture some of his magic from a few years ago, when he had back-to-back 40+ home runs seasons. While no one is expecting or even predicting 40 home runs, 30 may not be out of the question.
For one, he’s been reunited with hitting coach Kevin Long. This is the same Kevin Long who helped take an adequate home run hitter to those two consecutive 40+ home run seasons. Well, Kevin Long and a short porch in right field at Yankee Stadium. But to be fair, a majority of those home runs would have still gone out at Citi Field. That brings us to the next change in opportunity for Granderson in 2015.
During this past offseason, the Mets moved the right field wall at Citi Field in by ten feet. As we’ve seen in years past from Granderson, specifically during his time with the Yankees, the majority of his home runs are going to be to right field. This, perhaps, more than anything else, should bring hope that Granderson will tally a few more round-trippers this season. At the very least it should provide him with a little more peace of mind at the plate; that he doesn’t need to be Hercules to get the ball over the wall in right.
The biggest hope for a better season by Granderson is that the Mets’ lineup is simply better this year. Think of Carlos Beltran’s 2005 season and the let down that it was. The next year, the lineup was improved, and low and behold, Beltran lived up to the hype. Now adding Michael Cuddyer is not the same as adding a Carlos Delgado, but it could provide a similar boost. After-all, the man did win a batting title all of two years ago.
Too much stock should never be put into a player’s performance during spring training. With that said, Granderson’s exceptional play in March may be a sign that he is ready for a bounce-back year. Taking all of this into consideration, there’s no reason to believe that he can’t return to form and deliver on the promise of his signing.
