No one in baseball understands the value of attacking Curtis Granderson with lefty pitching as well as Jim Leyland.
Granderson played for Leyland from 2006-09 and hit .206 against southpaws in that period, the worst mark in the majors (minimum 300 plate appearances).
So that Leyland called on Phil Coke to go after Granderson to begin the seventh inning in yesterday’s season opener, scored tied 3-3, was no surprise. And, increasingly, neither was the result.
Granderson walloped a 2-0 fastball into the second deck in right. That was the go-ahead blow in a 6-3 Yankee triumph. But it also was yet another indicator of the new, improved Granderson we began seeing late last year, a version that could have implications way beyond the chill and pomp of a March 31 opener.
“His last hurdle was doing better against lefties,” Leyland said. “And now he is doing better.”
If Granderson has truly cleared that hurdle, if he plays for a full season in the overpowering way he did for the final six weeks last year, when it did not matter what arm the opposing pitcher was using, then he just might be the best center fielder in the AL — and not because Josh Hamilton, Torii Hunter and Vernon Wells have moved to corner outfield spots.
Think about what it means if he is that player. The Yanks would have another prime-aged star to serve as a counterbalance just in case the rotation devolves into CC Sabathia and pray for rain. Granderson, 30, was the best player on the field yesterday, with the homer off a lefty and a Mays-esque display in center.
And the symbolism cannot be avoided. For the Tigers traded Granderson to the Yanks because his salary was rising and, if anything, his work against lefties and on defense was falling.
In 2009, Granderson hit .199 vs. southpaws and stumbled around miserably in center field late in the season, a combination that contributed to the Tigers blowing a three-game lead with four to play to miss the playoffs. The Yanks obtained him that offseason anyway, because they needed to replenish lefty power lost with the free-agent departures of Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui.
But two weeks into last August, it was not hard to see the Yanks as the losers in that three-way trade. Ian Kennedy was doing nicely in Arizona, Coke was contributing in Detroit and Austin Jackson was in the midst of a Rookie of the Year run that made it seem as if he were the best short-term and long-term center fielder in the trade.
At that point, a struggling Granderson decided to retool his swing with hitting coach Kevin Long. Moving parts were eliminated, and Granderson retained hold of the bat with two hands for a longer period in his swing.
He returned to the lineup Aug. 12 and hit 14 homers the rest of the way, tied with Albert Pujols for the third-most in the majors. Even more eye-opening was that he hit .261 with a .564 slugging percentage against lefties.
He carried that good vibe into spring training. But late in camp, he incurred an oblique injury. He did not know he would avoid the DL and play in the opener until a phone conversation with GM Brian Cashman following a minor-league game in Tampa on Wednesday.
Still he had not tested himself with a dive — until he had to do so to make a lunging grab moving forward on a Will Rhymes sinking liner in the first inning yesterday. That was the first of three outstanding grabs, made more impressive because of the cold, swirling winds that upped the degree of difficulty.
Granderson struck out in his first at-bat, but not before he grinded a nine-pitch effort against Detroit ace Justin Verlander after falling behind 0-2. That was one reason Verlander was out after six innings, and with Granderson due, Leyland knew to summon Coke.
“You just want to have a shot [against lefties],” Granderson said. “And what we accomplished, Kevin Long and I, is that I have a shot each time now.”
He delivered a shot with the power to carry beyond a first game in which he was the best player.
Perhaps we just saw the Grand opening of a special show.
joel.sherman@nypost.com