Granderson retires after 16 MLB seasons

The first official post of this blog takes you to a player born in the South Suburbs of Chicago back on March 16th , 1981. This young man became a great MLB centerfielder from his first MLB game as a Detroit Tiger in 2004 to his final at-bat as a Miami Marlin on September 29th 2019. This well-known MLB outfielder is Lynwood, Illinois native Curtis Granderson. It is a mix of sadness and joy as the morning of January 31st , 2020 in a Twitter post the outfielder announced his retirement from the MLB after playing for 16 seasons. 

It’s been an incredible journey! Thanks for the ride of a lifetime, @MLB @MLB_PLAYERS pic.twitter.com/0AgOgSjWSC

— Curtis Granderson (@cgrand3) January 31, 2020

​ Granderson spent six seasons with the Detroit Tigers helping the team make it to the World Series in 2006.  Granderson was later traded to the New York Yankees in 2010 in a three-team trade that sent Austin Jackson and Max Scherzer to Detroit and Ian Kennedy to Arizona. Granderson then achieved his 1000th hit as a Yankee making one of his many marks on baseball. Granderson went on the remainder of his career playing for the New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, and his final MLB team destination the Miami Marlins. 

​Granderson is someone that no one can forget meeting or interacting with due to his kind demeanor along with caring about his teammates or those who need it most. The outfielder is known by many major league players for how much he enjoys being a voice and veteran presence to young teammates. A lot of kids today can thank him for inspiring them to play baseball. Granderson is not just well known for his play on the field for the MLB , but his donation of his time to charity along with his foundation called Grandkids. 

When a person retires from the MLB each player is remembered for various reasons. The now former MLB outfielder from Lynwood, Illinois will be remembered for being a great baseball player, charity contributor, and a great person to know on or off the field. I once met Curtis Granderson as a TF South sophomore as his baseball number was retired at my high school. Curtis spoke with me after signing two baseballs and I felt amazed at how kind he was to an average person as someone I will never forget meeting. 

  Granderson finished 16 years of MLB service with a .249 batting average, 344 home runs, 1800 hits, and 937 RBIs. Congratulations on a great career Curtis and thanks for what you brought to the baseball field each at bat and to people everywhere. Even though his MLB player career has ended it seems like Granderson wants to pursue MLB TV work in the future as a consideration after some Broadcast work for the MLB during the 2019 postseason. I look forward to seeing one of the nicest baseball players and congratulating him person next time hes back in the good old south suburbs of Chicago where he continues to inspire all.