A Grander Line-Up

Curtis Granderson, an outfielder recently acquired from the Tigers, needs to begin his Yankees career by deciding what kind of hitter he wants to be.

In his six season career, Granderson has been both a gap hitter and a power hitter. Granderson started in 2004 as a gap hitter, but has gradually turned into a power hitter with 30 home runs in the 2009 season. The shallow right field wall in Yankee Stadium offers Granderson, a left handed hitter, a new temptation not encountered at Comerica Park.

Over the last three years, Granderson batted .277 with a .351 OBP and .500 SLG. However, in 2009 Granderson transformed into a power hitter batting .249, with a .327 OBP and .453 SLG with 30 home runs. This is a sharp decrease from Granderson's MVP year in 2007 when he batted .302 with 23 home runs.

Although power hitters hit more home runs than gap hitters, their statistics drop as their strike outs and pop ups increase. This is true for the statistics for Granderson over the last three years.

The beginning of the 2009 season at the new Yankee Stadium was marked with discussion of balls flying over the right field wall more frequently than at the old stadium. This was especially beneficial for the left handed hitters such as Johnny Damon and Mark Texiera who frequently smashed balls over the right field wall.

237 home runs were hit in Yankee Stadium last year, while only 188 home runs were hit during Yankees games at away games. Although it is common for batters to hit better in their home stadium, the left handed hitters had substantially higher batting averages in Yankee stadium than their regular season average. Switch hitter Mark Texiera who usually batted lefty in Yankee Stadium batted .312 at Yankee Stadium, substantially higher than his 2009 average of .292. Another switch hitter Jorge Posada batted .325 in Yankee Stadium, but his season average was .285.

With power hitters like Alex Rodriguez, Mark Texiera, and Robinson Cano, the Yankees do not need another power hitter, especially if Johnny Damon turns down pinstripes for next season. Although no Yankees fan will turn down a few more home runs, the Yankees need to master small ball this year and advance runners on the bases. At this point, it's up to Curtis Granderson to decide whether to smash balls over the right field wall, or hit through the infield gap.