Sunday, January 25, 2009

Who's Your Tiger? Mine is absolutely GRAND

I have a confession to make: I have a crush on Curtis Granderson, the rockin' center fielder for the Detroit Tigers.

Do I really care about baseball? Nope, not really.

But Grandy is such a winner when it comes to knocking life outta the park, it's hard not to feel the pitter-patter of love when you learn his story.

I became fascinated with Granderson last year when I randomly came across his blog on ESPN.com. It was there that I learned he is not only a great writer, but he also graduated with a degree in business marketing/managing. And boy does he know how to market himself!

He's a good baseball player. He's very media-friendly. But most importantly, he does what many sports players do not do enough of: he gives back to the community. More specifically, he gives back to my community.

In his short time as a MLB player, he has donated time, money and memorabilia to tons of charitable causes not only in the Detroit area, but throughout the entire nation.

Both of Granderson's parents were teachers in Chicago, therefore the importance of education has become the focal point in Granderson's message to area youth, as he is one of only a handful of MLB players with a college degree.

His foundation, the Grand Kids Foundation was established last year to help our local public schools purchase school supplies for needy families and buy books and supplies for schools that don't receive the funds they are always in dire need of.

He's even established numerous baseball programs in some of Michigan's inner cities and is currently working on creating a scholarship program for high school graduates.

Annnd, he's only 27 years old, folks.

Grandy, I'll be rooting for you this season. Not because I love baseball, but because I love how you connect with the community. Keep up the good work and keep making Detroit proud!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

That picture? With the sun and the grass and the happiness? Makes baseball season (and summertime) somehow feel closer. Thanks!