Curtis Granderson to work on having a more consistent swing in the offseason
Curtis Granderson #3 of the Mets looks on in the fourth inning against the Texas Rangers at Citi Field on Friday, July 4, 2014 in Queens. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Change has been a constant element of Curtis Granderson's evolution as a hitter. When he first came up with the Tigers, and even later as a slugger with the Yankees, he has kept an open mind about making adjustments.
This offseason, after what has been a lackluster first year with the Mets, it appears that capacity to learn again will be put to the test.
Hitting coach Lamar Johnson said this week that Granderson might benefit from using the winter to make changes that go beyond just minor tweaks.
"Overall, there are some things I would like to see him do a little different next year,'' Johnson said. "I see some things where I know it's going to have to be [changed] in the winter.''
Granderson, 33, was signed to a four-year, $60-million deal last offseason in hopes that his power would translate at Citi Field. So far, it hasn't. He's hitting .210 with 16 homers and 49 RBIs. His lack of power has prompted manager Terry Collins to move him out of the heart of the order.
Granderson is reaching base at a modest .313 clip and slugging only .354 -- well off his typical production. His season has been defined by long cold snaps interrupted by brief outbursts of production. Rarely has he grasped any consistency.
"If that's something we have to look at and consider, it might be an option,'' Granderson said of making overall changes.
Johnson declined to go into detail about precisely what changes he wants to see in Granderson's mechanics, but he believes a few changes would bring some much-needed consistency.
"Sometimes we develop two different swings, some guys do,'' Johnson said. "I just want him to develop one swing, a consistent swing, and that's what we've been working on since I've been here. It's being consistent with your swing, your bat path.''
Johnson said he's seen swings by Granderson that have looked sound during batting practice but flawed during games.
Johnson prefers to avoid making sweeping adjustments in the middle of the regular season, but the offseason is a different matter.
"The big thing that I talk to all the hitters about is developing one consistent swing,'' said Johnson, who took over in May after the firing of Dave Hudgens. "You do the same thing in the cage, in batting practice and in the game. That's what we're going to work on.''
Granderson is no stranger to swing changes. He consistently has drawn raves from past hitting coaches for his willingness to adapt and learn.
One of the most prominent examples came in 2010, late in his first season with the Yankees. After arriving the previous winter as part of a blockbuster three-team trade, Granderson struggled so much that he implored hitting coach Kevin Long to begin making sweeping changes that August.
The adjustments centered on eliminating excess movement in Granderson's swing. He returned to hit 41 homers in the 2011 season and 43 more in 2012 before injuries limited him to 61 games in 2013.
The Mets splurged on Granderson, believing that his power would play despite Citi Field's generous dimensions. On the road, Granderson is hitting .233 with 10 home runs. At home, those numbers drop to .186 with six homers.
Granderson plays down those splits, instead focusing on a need to improve his swing as a whole.
"There might be something that we might have to tweak one way or the other, but it's not because of the stadium or anything like that,'' Granderson said. "It's just a matter of how do I consistently get that feeling where, boom, I know I've got it?''
