On December 9, 2013; Curtis Granderson would end up saying goodbye to the Bronx and hello to Queens. This would be the day where he would officially sign a four-year deal with the New York Mets. Unfortunately, the contract is coming to an end, as this is the final year of the deal.
At the press conference to announce the signing, Grandy took a small jab at his former team. He said, “A lot of people I have met in New York have always said true New Yorkers are Mets fans.” For a bit of time, it seemed that New York was still a Yankee town. The tide wouldn’t turn towards the Mets until 2015, when they started winning. There have been people who have been wondering if the Granderson deal has worked out for the Mets. I fully think that it has worked out big time for the team.
Over his tenure in Queens, Granderson has produced 80 homers and has driven in 210 runs. While he has been very valuable to the Mets from an offensive standpoint, he has also benefited them in other ways. For instance, he has brought a plethora of leadership to both the clubhouse and the outfield.
What people need to remember is he came to the Mets only a few years after the Yankees won the 2009 World Series. So it is safe to say that Granderson knew a thing or two about what it takes to win. The Mets average age for the roster is roughly 28 years old. In addition, many of them had not had the winning experience.
The last area we could look at is what he has done on the field. For starters, he has played a majority of every season that he has been a Met. Also, he has taken guys like Michael Conforto under his wing and it is paying off big time.
The numbers that Michael Conforto has so far during the 2017 season are evidence to show what Granderson has done with him. In 2017, Conforto has 13 homers, 31 Runs Batted in, and also has a batting average of .333. The feeling with what Conforto has been able to do in the first half of the 2017 season shows that he is the future of the outfield for the Mets.
Overall, the last four years of Curtis Granderson being a New York Met has been wonderful. However, age is catching up to the centerfielder, so I don’t see him doing this much longer. While I don’t see Granderson being with the Mets past this season, I see the impact of Curtis Granderson to be shown for years to come with the Mets.