Kevin Long helped fix Curtis Granderson once and doesn’t see any reason that magic can’t be replicated with the Mets.
The new Mets hitting coach said Wednesday that a video review of Granderson’s at-bats last season showed his hands moving and in a weak position. Now Long will try to get Granderson back on track, beginning in offseason workouts near the hitting coach’s home in Arizona.
The two were together with the Yankees from 2010-13, during which Granderson became one of the AL’s best hitters. Twice, Granderson surpassed 40 homers with the Yankees.
“The biggest factor with Curtis was when he came over [to the Yankees] he was almost turning into a platoon player because there was some struggles with left-handed pitching,” Long said. “I really felt during his time and the adjustments we made, he was able to kind of get past that.”
Granderson had a .227/.326/.388 slash line with 20 homers and 66 RBIs in 2014, after receiving a four-year contract worth $60 million from the Mets.
Long, who was fired by the Yankees in October, compared Granderson’s struggles last season to those Brian McCann endured after arriving in The Bronx with an $85 million contract.
“I think the first time you come into an organization and sign a big contract, it might be a little more difficult,” Long said. “Brian McCann, as the season progressed, he got better and more comfortable so you’ve got to factor that in as well.”
Granderson would have hit nine additional homers last season in the reconfigured Citi Field according to general manager Sandy Alderson. Long doesn’t doubt Granderson can reach those heights, but said it probably won’t be the player’s goal.
“You add nine homers to anybody’s stats and it’s a lot,” Long said. “I know Curtis as well as anybody, and he doesn’t try to hit homers. And he doesn’t consider himself a home run hitter.
“But at the end of the day when you see how many home runs he hit for us with the Yankees and see the power he has in his body, you have to consider him somewhat of a home run hitter.”
Long said he expects to also have sessions with David Wright and Travis d’Arnaud in Arizona. For now, he has been watching all his new hitters on video.
“I write down notes of things that I like and things that I think can get better,” Long said. “But that’s not even meeting with these guys yet, so the next step will be meeting with them individually. There’s some work to be done, but that’s to be expected. We’ll get there, but I have a real good feel and understanding for some of our hitters right now, and I think we’ll just get better and better as we go along.”