Curtis Granderson led the American League in strikeouts last year, so most of his Spring Training has been about not striking out. His emphasis on his two-strike approach has yielded him just one strikeout all spring, but he also entered yesterday's game (March 14th) with just one extra-base hit. He has focused on putting the ball in play rather than powering it. On Wednesday, he multiplied that total against the Mets, falling just a triple shy of the cycle in a 4-for-4 performance, hitting his first homer of the spring.
Granderson has been working with Tigers hitting coach Lloyd McClendon and Triple-A Toledo hitting coach Leon Durham and most of the corrections this spring have revolved around reducing Granderson's strikeouts. Considering his walk total last year, he already shows good judgment of the strike zone, so coaches focused on making his swing shorter and quicker to put the ball in play.
The approach has worked, but recently it worked almost too well. Durham and McClendon are not trying to turn Granderson into a punch and Judy hitter, they still want him to drive the baseball. They want him to keep his same approach, not give up with two strikes, but to shorten up and put the ball in play.
Even with all the strikeouts last year, Granderson had 255 total bases out of the leadoff spot, fifth highest in the AL, including 19 home runs. A balanced attack, cutting down on the strikeouts, while increasing his contact with two strikes, could help Granderson improve on his .260 average.
Granderson will be a key table setter at the top of the Tigers lineup providing RBI opportunities for new addition Gary Sheffield, and Magglio Ordonez.
It is a possibility that Granderson could be moved down in the lineup, as The Detroit Free Press' reports that manager Jim Leyland is considering batting catcher Ivan Rodriguez leadoff during the regular season, at least against left-handed pitchers. Stay tuned.
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