The news that Curtis Granderson has agreed a lucrative five-year deal with the Tigers will not just be warmly received in Detroit. The centre fielder has become a firm favourite of the British baseball crowd thanks to his ‘Ask Curtis’ segment on Five’s coverage during the 2007 season.
MLB.com is reporting that the deal is worth $30.25 million (£15.325m, or £59,000 per week). It’s the type of deal we are beginning to see more and more often. Teams are proactively agreeing deals with their important young players, offering the player long-term security and themselves some financial certainty over their arbitration-eligible years. As in Troy Tulowitzki’s recent contract with the Rockies, Curtis has given up his first year of free agency to tie himself to the Motor City for the foreseeable future. Judging by the deals they have made during the off-season, Detroit is going to be a great place to play baseball over the next few years and there’s a good chance that his success off the field is going to be matched by success on it.
Granderson is one of those players who you can’t help but root for. He’s talented without being precociously gifted. A hard worker who is determined to make the most of every ounce of his ability. More than anything, he’s one of those guys who plays with a smile on his face, knowing full well that getting paid good money to play the sport you love is an incredibly fortunate position to be in.
While 2007 may have been a disappointment for the Tigers when compared to their Fall Classic adventure of the previous year, for Granderson it was anything but. In his second year as a regular, he showed significant improvement in all batting categories and continued to impress with his defence in centre. His 38 doubles, 23 triples, 23 home runs and 26 stolen bases put him into exclusive company: the 20-20-20-20 club that boasts only three other members (Frank Schulte, Willie Mays, and Jimmy Rollins).
That must have been a relief for Johnny and Josh. Whether Curtis was fully aware that he was taking over from Jeff Weaver on Five’s coverage is unknown, but I’m guessing he may have thought twice if he had realised the power of the ‘Five curse’. Don’t forget: Nomar has never been the same since Johnny touched his glove and ‘Weaver watch’ wasn’t originally much help to Jeff either. But then again, Weaver eventually won a World Series ring so maybe we can now say the curse has been reversed?
Granderson joined up with Five following a trip to London in the 06/07 off-season, which was part of a wider tour of Europe to promote MLB. The Tigers’ GM Dave Dombrowski has stated today that Curtis is “one of the best young players in the game and a quality individual that represents the Tigers well both on and off the field.” Few baseball fans in Britain would argue with those sentiments. Congratulations Curtis on a well-deserved contract. Good guys do win sometimes.
