Curtis Granderson Jr. (born March 16, 1981), nicknamed the Grandyman, is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, Toronto Blue Jays, Milwaukee Brewers, and Miami Marlins. Granderson played college baseball at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He was selected by the Tigers in the 2002 MLB draft. He made his MLB debut with the Tigers in 2004. Granderson is a three-time MLB All-Star, and won a Silver Slugger Award in 2011. As of 2019, he led active players in career triples, was 2nd in career strikeouts, was 5th in career home runs, and was the 6th-oldest player in the National League. Off the field, Granderson is recognized for his commitment to the community through outreach and charity work. Many of his charitable endeavors support inner-city children. He has also served as an ambassador for MLB abroad. Granderson won the Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award four times and the Roberto Clemente Award in 2016 in recognition of his contributions in the community. Early years Granderson grew up in Blue Island, Illinois, and Lynwood, Illinois, south suburbs of Chicago. His father, Curtis Sr., was a dean and physical education teacher at Nathan Hale Elementary School in Illinois. His mother, Mary, taught chemistry at Curie Metropolitan High School in Chicago. Granderson's half-sister, Monica, is an English professor at Jackson State University. As a child, Granderson grew up a fan of the Atlanta Braves, choosing not to root for the hometown Chicago Cubs because he often rushed home from school to watch Saved by the Bell and was disappointed when a Cubs game was on instead. Granderson attended Thornton Fractional South High School (T.F. South) in Lansing, where he played baseball and basketball. During his high school baseball career, Granderson batted .369 with 11 home runs and 88 runs batted in (RBI), and was named an All-State selection his senior year. Granderson wore uniform number 14 at T.F. South, choosing it because his father wore it while playing softball. T.F. South honored Granderson by retiring his jersey in a December 2011 ceremony. College career Granderson was pursued in recruitment by a number of college baseball programs, and he chose the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), in part because they allowed him to play basketball in addition to baseball. However,