Curtis Granderson led off the Tigers’ first inning with a home run, the twenty sixth of his career. That three higher than his previous best season. What happened to the rest of his power? In 2007, Granderson knocked out 84 extra-base hits, including 23 triples. In 2008, missing 21 games, he hit one fewer home run, but 10 fewer triples and 12 fewer doubles. This season, his home runs are still fine, up a bit, but his triples are down again and he’ll need a decent month to reach his total of 26 doubles from last season.
My question to Tigers fans is, “What changed?” Has Granderson lost speed, or did he become enamored of home runs and change from a line-drive gap hitter who could get the ball out of the park into one who tries to loft the ball over the fence? Was 2007 just a fluke, a batter hitting great at his peak? If he changed his style, I’m not sure it was for the better.
The Tigers lead the Indians 1-0 in the bottom of the second.
Posted by David Pinto at 1:36 pm | Games, Players | Permalink | 3 Comments
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September 3rd, 2009 @ 3:22 pm
THT has the best data for this… Grandy’s page is at http://www.hardballtimes.com/thtstats/main/player/4747/
Looking at the data, LD% and HR/FB are stable, but GB% is way down and pop flys way up, with a commensurate drop in BABIP. Most of the popups are a fluke, but steals and defense are in the normal range, suggesting no significant drop in speed. I dont know if there has been an obvious change is his swing, but it looks like a change in batting approach.
September 3rd, 2009 @ 5:13 pm
I would guess it’s a combination of the change in approach (seen in the numbers above as higher fly-ball percentages – he’s trying to elevate the ball) and triples being a major fluke for anyone, even someone with Granderson’s speed.
September 4th, 2009 @ 8:43 am
2007 was almost certainly a fluke (or at least a peak season) and his ISO in ‘09 is essentially the same as his ISO in ‘08. So when he gets a hit he’s hitting for the same kind of power, he’s just not getting hits as often.
The difference between 08 and 09 is also partially explainable by his performance against lefties, which was a career best (I believe) in 08 and is a career low this year.