Curtis Granderson slipped out of his Nikes and into the New Balance 4040 cleats for 2012.
First and foremost, I want to welcome WPW’s newest member, Bobby. He’s a college pitcher himself, much more than I ever was, and he’s helping out now with the site. I’m pumped to have him on board. Bobby helped put this post together for you all.
Joining a long, long, long line of power hitting, speedy center fielders in pinstripes, Granderson struggled in his first year (he wasn’t the first) with the Yankees, only to bounce back with a historic statistical season in 2011. Granderson scored 136 runs, joining Earle Combs, Rickey Henderson and Joe Dimaggio as the only Yankee center fielders to score more as many (Combs did it twice, and Henderson and Joe D. once). Just a note: Babe Ruth, not a CF, did it 9 times!!! Absurd. Anyways, Granderson finished with 41 bombs and 119 RBI for good measure, finishing 4th in the MVP voting (I think he got robbed).
Granderson does a ton of damage at the plate, but also flashes his speed in center. Though he hasn’t got the hardware to show for it, Granderson is one of the better center fielders in the game. He has been criticized for his supposedly poor instincts (getting bad reads and bad jumps on the ball), but he makes up for it with his dynamic speed and athleticism.
He wears a Rawlings Pro Preferred Pro H webbed glove with an open back and index finger pad, much like the one you see above (although I did some photoshopping, because his custom model with grey lacing is not available online). The photo I used for the feature is actually of the PROS303-125 glove with the same specs. This model is the closest to Granderson’s and is available online, just not with the exact same look.
As you can see in the video above, Granderson is a New Balance guy in 2012, converted from Nike in previous years. The 4040 white/black cleats Grandy wears for home games (in the feature) are available online. However, his aways, which are gray/navy, don’t look to be available online. Here they are from tonight’s game against Yu Darvish:
Grandy swinging at a ball in the dirt in New Balance 4040 cleats. (From MLB.tv)
Granderson’s sunglasses are new for 2012, as we saw him in the Nike Skylon Ace style (in all black) in previous years. Our best guess with limited photographic evidence (but we make up for it in expertise!) is that he is wearing Oakley Half Jacket 2.0 XL sunglasses in black. These are sharp, new, and available exactly as you see them in the feature photo.
This video is a highlight reel for the 2011 season. Not exactly a Granderson highlight show, although you will see him twice. It is worth it for the 500 or so other great plays, too.
Here are the links:
Rawlings PROS303-125 (Not Granderson’s exact model, but the same web, same leather, same color aside from his grey laces)
New Balance 4040 Cleats (Granderson’s home cleats are white/black, aways are not available)
Oakley Half Jacket 2.0 XL Sunglasses (Granderson’s are all black)
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Grandy at the bat next!
does grandersons glove have a conventional open back or a fastback?
Great call, it’s the same back as what you see in the feature photo–open w/ that index finger pad (not sure what to call it). Moe, thanks for asking because I didn’t add that and I meant to.