How amazing a season is Curtis Granderson having for the New York Yankees? His numbers are so impressive that today his name was mentioned alongside one of the all-time great Yankees: Mickey Mantle.
Granderson, incredibly humble guy that he is, would dispute that he deserves to even be mentioned in the same breath as Mantle. But the numbers do not lie. Granderson’s 38 home runs are the most by a Yankee centerfielder since the great Mantle hit 54 in 1961 (and still fell short of teammate Roger Maris’ record-breaking total). The current Yankees centerfielder continues to insist he is not a home run hitter, but he is putting up numbers that invoke the memory of one of the greatest Yankee sluggers.
If the baseball season ended today, there is no way to deny Granderson the Most Valuable Player award. He is first in every category that counts: home runs, runs batted in (107), runs scored (122) and extra-based hits (68). Sure, Adrian Gonzalez of the Boston Red Sox would get some votes, especially with his superior batting average, but that’s the only key metric where he surpasses Granderson. And there can be no denying that Granderson’s powerful bat has been a major reason why the Yankees have survived the multiple injuries suffered by Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez.
Alas, the season does not end today and there’s another full month to go. Granderson’s bat could slow down, not that he has shown any signs of that. But even if it does, Granderson has put together the makings of a legendary season.
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