Dec. 10, 2009

NEW YORK- UIC Athletics Hall of Famer Curtis Granderson will move to Major League Baseball's biggest stage after the former Flames baseball star was traded from the Detroit Tigers to the 2009 World Series champion New York Yankees this week.

The three-team trade involving the Yankees, Tigers and Arizona Diamondbacks was agreed upon a few days ago during the beginning of MLB's Winter Meetings in Indianapolis and was officially completed on Wednesday, Dec. 9. (Click here for the MLB.com story on the Granderson blockbuster trade).

Granderson played for the Tigers for four full seasons and was named to the American League All-Star Team this past summer. After the 2009 campaign he was named the Marvin Miller Man of the Year by his peers for his efforts on and off the field. He also played a major role in the Tigers' 2006 American League Championship season.

In three seasons at UIC Granderson hit .350 and set the Flames' career record for runs scored with 178 from 2000-2002. He also holds the single-season school record for batting average after hitting .483 in 2002, the second-best average in the nation that season.

He was named the Horizon League Player of the Year and a Second Team All-American by Baseball America in 2002.

On January 13, 2008, Granderson was inducted into the UIC Athletics Hall of Fame for his achievements.

Granderson will be the second UIC grad currently in the Yankees organization. Right-hander Ryan Zink was a New York Yankees draft pick in 2007 and pitched for the Class A Tampa Yankees this past season. Other former Flames to play for the Yankees organization since 1997 include Jason Henry, Steve Carlson, Kevin Nelson and Jordan DeVoir.

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