During Curtis Granderson’s sophomore season at the University of Illinois-Chicago, an opposing player drove a ball to right-center field. It was the center fielder’s ball, though, and Granderson was in right. Not his play to make.
But he had to, because the center fielder lost the ball in the sun. And Granderson bailed him out by hauling it in.
“That’s what caught my eye about him,” Jerome Cochran, the then-Tigers scout who recommended and signed Granderson for Detroit in the 2002 draft, told The Post yesterday. “The effort, first of all, and the [awareness] to be in the right position at the right time.”
HARDBALL AT THE WINTER MEETINGS
Cochran said he was impressed by Granderson’s defensive instincts, and he was smitten enough to watch him play more following that day. “Probably every opportunity that I had,” Cochran said.
Maybe if the Illinois-Chicago center fielder had a better pair of sunglasses that day, Granderson would have gone unnoticed for a little longer. But that season, the Yankees’ newest star ended up hitting .304 with eight homers, 42 RBIs and eight steals, leading the team in homers, runs and walks. As a junior, Granderson won Horizon League Player of the Year by batting .483 with nine homers, 45 RBIs and 17 steals, and that set up the 2002 Draft.
Cochran said he fought passionately for the Tigers to take Granderson, and they finally did, snagging him in the third round with the 80th overall selection. Cochran said he felt “jubilation” when Granderson joined his team.
“He played the game the right way,” Cochran said. “And when I say that, he gave 100 percent offensively and defensively.”
Cochran said he thinks Granderson, who turns 29 in March, will excel in New York, especially because of Yankee Stadium’s dimensions.
“Short porch in right field, Chicago boy, it’s right up his alley,” Cochran said. “He grew up playing in the cold-weather climate, so New York’s not going to be a big deal as far as making the adjustment there.”
Not surprisingly, based on what the scouting report has been on Granderson, Cochran also said Granderson’s personal traits exceed his professional ones.
Cochran, who now scouts for the Pirates, said he still speaks to Granderson, typically at least once a week, and touched base with him after the trade to the Yankees on Tuesday.
Cochran said Granderson’s reaction was professional, with the center fielder acknowledging that plenty of his former teammates have left the team over the last few years and realizing that he wasn’t traded for personal reasons.