Granderson Comes Up Big Again and Again for Mets

OK, I’ll admit it. When the Mets signed Curtis Granderson to a 4-year, $60-plus million deal before the 2014 season, I was struck with visions of Jason Bay (which made me wince) … and Bobby Bonilla (more wincing) … and George Foster (so much wincing that I got a face cramp).

However, I thought somehow the outcome with Granderson would be even worse than those other debacles. After all, Bay, Bonilla and Foster at least came to Queens appearing to have a lot left in the tank. Granderson, meanwhile, seemed to have the needle on the wrong side of E.

In his first season at CitiField, Granderson didn’t disappoint in disappointing. He hit just .227 for the struggling franchise in 2014, and the shift by manager Terry Collins from the middle of the order to the leadoff spot did little to ease the woes of either the player or the team, since, in getting on base less than one third of the time, he was hardly the table-setter the Mets sorely needed.

When the 2015 campaign began, Granderson was still in the top spot, mostly by default. One of the few Met regulars who was actually, well, regular, as the lineup was depleted by injury, Granderson had an OK first half, showing more patience than in the past at the plate while still displaying remnants of his old power as the Mets got to the All-Star break a few games above .500.

The tale has often been told about how everything changed when Yoenis Cespedes came to town at the end of July and there’s no disputing that the slugger carried the Mets offense for much of the next six weeks while seemingly hitting one out just about every night. Talk even abounded of Cespedes taking home the NL MVP award in what would’ve been an unprecedented feat for a player who spent most of the year in another league.

However, while Cespedes has been boom-or-bust for the Mets -- the centerfielder hasn’t hit a home run in more than two weeks after knocking nine out in the previous 13 games -- Granderson has been a steady contributor, not to mention one of the NL’s best performers over the second half of the season. He’s helped the team win in a variety of ways. In August, it was with power, as he cranked 16 extra-base hits and racked up 22 RBIs in 27 games. In September, it was getting on base, as his 22 BBs and .411 OBP led to 21 runs scored in 24 games.

And while Granderson can’t leg it out like he used to in Detroit, when he twice led the AL in triples, he’s still an asset on the basepaths and a plus-defender in right field.

The talk of Cespedes as an MVP candidate has faded along with his power surge. As for the Mets, as they head into the postseason for the first time in nearly a decade, their MVP isn’t their trade-deadline acquisition or ace Matt Harvey or stud hurler Jacob DeGrom. Amazingly enough, it’s Granderson.

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