Curtis Granderson was ready to retire in 2017.
His four-year contract and time with the Mets was ending and the Amazin’s dealt the three-time All-Star to the Dodgers in August. He had made peace with the reality that the worst season of his 14-year career —and a 37th birthday in March — meant there might be little, or no, interest in his services this season. But the Blue Jays believed, signing Granderson to a one-year, $5 million contract.
And no longer does the end appear near.
In his return to Citi Field, Granderson batted leadoff in both ends of the two-game set, and finished 3-for-8, with a stolen base. In Wednesday’s 12-1 win over the Mets, Granderson reached base nearly as much as his former team, collecting two doubles, and a walk, while scoring two runs.
Last year, the future looked more uncertain than ever when he exited Queens. When he left the borough Wednesday, he held a higher batting average (.276) than all but two position players on the Mets.
“Once the season finished up last year, I took the offseason saying, ‘Hey, I’m gonna prepare myself for the opportunity to play. If it does present itself, I’ll be ready. If not, then I’ll move on to the next chapter of my life,’ ” Granderson said. “My whole goal for the 2018 season was have fun, and help this team out in any way possible, so we can hopefully be in a situation where we play in October.”
Granderson reached October last season, but only hurt his case to come back.
Despite hitting 26 home runs last year, Granderson also had a career-worst .212 batting average, and hit .161 with the Dodgers, following an Aug. 18 trade from the Mets. In the first two rounds of the playoffs, he went 1-for-15, with eight strikeouts, and was then left off the World Series roster.
Toronto signed Granderson in January to platoon in left field with (currently injured) Steve Pearce, but Granderson has performed well enough to play every day.
Granderson, who shares the Mets record with 21 leadoff home runs, entered Wednesday with the AL’s third-best OPS as a leadoff hitter (.954), and is hitting for what would be his highest average since 2008.
“Curtis is having a great year,” manager John Gibbons said. “Obviously we liked him to sign him. … He’s gotten some big, big hits, and when he’s leading off, he really works the pitchers, he draws walks, he’s a tough out. He knows how to play that job. He’s done it for years. I can’t say enough good things about him.
“He gives you a great at-bat every time.”
Mets fans warmly remembered many of those times Tuesday night — including Granderson’s role in the team’s run to the 2015 World Series — and gave him a strong ovation when he was honored at Citi Field with a video tribute.
“It was exciting. I didn’t expect that. It’s really cool that the organization decided to do that. They definitely didn’t have to,” Granderson said. “The fans’ response and reaction to it was really great. … To finish up everything the way I wanted it to go was awesome, and then for them to acknowledge it was really cool.”