Curtis Granderson: “A Grand Ambassador”
Posted on: February 23, 2009
Curtis Granderson, 27-year old outfielder for the Detroit Tigers, represents Major League Baseball as an ambassador for MLB International. He has travelled to places like China, Italy, and South Africa, representing the face of America’s pastime. Commissioner Bud Selig wrote a letter to Granderson, thanking him for his personal convictions in his own life, and for what he has done for the sport:
“There are so many fine young men playing Major League baseball today, but I can think of no one who is better suited to represent our national pastime than you,” Selig told Granderson in his letter.
The Chicago-area native is a great leader for the Tigers’ organization on and off the field. In addition to a career high .302 batting average in 2007, Granderson also led the league in triples that season (23) and finished 10th in AL MVP voting. In 2008, Granderson started his own foundation, which focuses on education.
The Grand Kids Foundation, holds a variety of events, sponsorship fundraisers, and donation drives each year. The foundation’s mission is to enforce educational initiatives to youth, and to help bring the sport of baseball back to the nation’s inner cities. Granderson, who also served as a studio analyst for TBS when the Tigers missed the playoffs in 2007 and 2008, focused his foundation initially on the urban areas of Detroit and Flint, Michigan. These are inner-city districts that have been troublesome for youth and education for quite some time.
If anything, the American League All-Star does too much outside of the baseball diamond. However, his active involvement in the community doesn’t seem to have slowed his play, as he is scheduled to represent Team USA in the World Baseball Classic in March.
In actuality—Sam Abrams, the team’s manager of player relations, once said, “The more Curtis does in the community, the better he plays.”
Please click here for the article on Granderson entitled “Tigers Outfielder a Grand Ambassador,” written by John Paul Morosi, sportswriter for the Detroit Free Press:
2 Responses to "Curtis Granderson: “A Grand Ambassador”"
March 6, 2009 at 10:36 pm
From all local accounts here in Detroit, Curtis is a great player and an ever better human being.
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Legacy Direct Blog 
March 1, 2009 at 4:45 am
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