2008 Woodie Awards
Interview with Detroit Tigers' Curtis Granderson
Curtis Granderson, the former Flames star, talks about his days at UIC, his red-hot start in the Majors, and Detroit's push for the AL Central crown
Matt Piechalak
Issue date: 7/10/06 Section: Sports
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Media Credit: Detroit Free PressThrough July 7, in 84 games for Detroit, Granderson is batting .283 with 20 doubles, 11 home runs, and 42 RBI. The 25 year old UIC alumni from Blue Island is one of only five center fielders in Major League Baseball who has not tabbed an error this season.
Curtis, this is your second year with the Detroit Tigers. From a personal standpoint, what is different about this year's team?
We have a new coaching staff, that's probably the main difference. Besides a few additions, the team itself is the same but confidence is definitely higher than last year. With one more year together, the comfort level is there. We're just joking around and having a lot of good times.
What advice have you received from veterans such as Magglio [Ordonez] and Pudge [Rodriquez]?
Just continue to work, have fun, and trust yourself. Know that you're a good player that's [up] here for a reason. If you do that, a lot of the stuff will tend to take care of itself.
Can you name a definitive moment when you realized that you had a shot at a Major League Baseball Career?
Well, I'm still not set that I have a career here. I've made it, but I think that that's a little easier than establishing a career. What I'm trying to do is [establish] myself as a major leaguer. I still have a lot of work to do to say that I've had a career in the Major Leagues.
In May you invited the UIC Baseball team out to Comerica. Obviously that was an honor for the team. Can you explain what that meant to you to be able to talk and perform in front of them?
It was great. Anytime I get a chance to interact with them, I always love to do it. I still keep in contact with the team and I work out with a lot of them. The coaching staff is still very similar to when I was there. I even went down to Florida with them two springs ago for the opening of their season.
How much of an impact has [UIC Head Coach] Mike Dee had on your personal game and what advice has he given to you?
The big thing he always told me is to just trust myself. He knows that I am very analytical, but that can also be a problem. My first instinct is usually going to be my best instinct. He said that if I go by that, I should be okay. It took me a while to realize that and trust that.
What is your biggest accomplishment from your time at UIC?
Graduating was my biggest accomplishment. I got drafted as a junior and I still had a year and half left in my major. Everyone said that if you leave school early to go into professional sports, you're probably not going to get a chance to get it done. I ended up graduating on time in business managing and business marketing.
As of July 5, you are tied for tenth in the American League in walks with (44). All of the players ahead of you are walked for obvious reasons. They are sluggers with an average of 21 home runs. No team wants to walk the speedy lead-off guy. So what do you attribute your walks to?
I think the big thing is, when I go up there being aggressive, that's when I draw my walks because I'm set on certain pitches I want to hit and if they're not there, I'm not swinging. I'm not going up there trying to walk. When I do that, it's the reverse situation, which ends in a strike out or a bad at-bat.
Would you agree that having a great spring training was important to your fast start in the regular season?
For me, yes and no. No because it's a different environment. You go from playing in 80 to 100 degree weather to potentially opening the season in 60 to 40 degree weather. We also play a lot of day games during the spring; a lot of night games during the regular season. At the same time though, I think that the most important part about it is getting your conditioning, your hand-eye coordination, and your timing down.
It looks like the Tigers and the White Sox are going to be competing the whole year. How fun has the AL Central race been so far and what do you believe it will take to beat Chicago?
It's definitely been fun, especially watching Detroit fans [who are] loving it. They've been going through a lot for the past couple of years, and now they've got something big to root for. We're going to enjoy it and continue to have fun. The big thing I expect is that the World Champs are not going to slow down anytime soon. They're definitely going to be one of the teams at the end and hopefully we can be one of the teams as well.
Thank you for your time Curtis, and best of luck to you the rest of the season.
Thank you and take care.
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We have a new coaching staff, that's probably the main difference. Besides a few additions, the team itself is the same but confidence is definitely higher than last year. With one more year together, the comfort level is there. We're just joking around and having a lot of good times.
What advice have you received from veterans such as Magglio [Ordonez] and Pudge [Rodriquez]?
Just continue to work, have fun, and trust yourself. Know that you're a good player that's [up] here for a reason. If you do that, a lot of the stuff will tend to take care of itself.
Can you name a definitive moment when you realized that you had a shot at a Major League Baseball Career?
Well, I'm still not set that I have a career here. I've made it, but I think that that's a little easier than establishing a career. What I'm trying to do is [establish] myself as a major leaguer. I still have a lot of work to do to say that I've had a career in the Major Leagues.
In May you invited the UIC Baseball team out to Comerica. Obviously that was an honor for the team. Can you explain what that meant to you to be able to talk and perform in front of them?
It was great. Anytime I get a chance to interact with them, I always love to do it. I still keep in contact with the team and I work out with a lot of them. The coaching staff is still very similar to when I was there. I even went down to Florida with them two springs ago for the opening of their season.
How much of an impact has [UIC Head Coach] Mike Dee had on your personal game and what advice has he given to you?
The big thing he always told me is to just trust myself. He knows that I am very analytical, but that can also be a problem. My first instinct is usually going to be my best instinct. He said that if I go by that, I should be okay. It took me a while to realize that and trust that.
What is your biggest accomplishment from your time at UIC?
Graduating was my biggest accomplishment. I got drafted as a junior and I still had a year and half left in my major. Everyone said that if you leave school early to go into professional sports, you're probably not going to get a chance to get it done. I ended up graduating on time in business managing and business marketing.
As of July 5, you are tied for tenth in the American League in walks with (44). All of the players ahead of you are walked for obvious reasons. They are sluggers with an average of 21 home runs. No team wants to walk the speedy lead-off guy. So what do you attribute your walks to?
I think the big thing is, when I go up there being aggressive, that's when I draw my walks because I'm set on certain pitches I want to hit and if they're not there, I'm not swinging. I'm not going up there trying to walk. When I do that, it's the reverse situation, which ends in a strike out or a bad at-bat.
Would you agree that having a great spring training was important to your fast start in the regular season?
For me, yes and no. No because it's a different environment. You go from playing in 80 to 100 degree weather to potentially opening the season in 60 to 40 degree weather. We also play a lot of day games during the spring; a lot of night games during the regular season. At the same time though, I think that the most important part about it is getting your conditioning, your hand-eye coordination, and your timing down.
It looks like the Tigers and the White Sox are going to be competing the whole year. How fun has the AL Central race been so far and what do you believe it will take to beat Chicago?
It's definitely been fun, especially watching Detroit fans [who are] loving it. They've been going through a lot for the past couple of years, and now they've got something big to root for. We're going to enjoy it and continue to have fun. The big thing I expect is that the World Champs are not going to slow down anytime soon. They're definitely going to be one of the teams at the end and hopefully we can be one of the teams as well.
Thank you for your time Curtis, and best of luck to you the rest of the season.
Thank you and take care.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Anonymous
posted 7/11/06 @ 11:17 AM CST
seems like a cool guy and someone i would root for, even tho i am a sox fan. knows how to play the game the right way.
Anonymous
posted 7/25/06 @ 3:13 PM CST
Curtis is the man! Thank you for the interview!!
-James
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