‘Swing into Spring with Curtis Granderson’ event to be held in Cape Girardeau

Three-time MLB All-Star and member of the 2025 Hall of Fame Ballot, Curtis Granderson is returning to Cape Girardeau for "Swing into Spring with Curtis Granderson" on Saturday, April 27, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Cape Girardeau SportsPlex.

The event, hosted by People Organized to Revitalize Community Healing (PORCH) and the Cape Girardeau Parks & Recreation Department, will feature a night of stories and autographs with the former major leaguer.

A family connection familiarized Granderson with PORCH's mission and initiative.

“The executive director Tameka Randle is a family member of mine,” Granderson said. “As she was mentioning a lot of the things she has going on in Cape Girardeau with PORCH, a lot of the initiatives overlap with some things I’ve been doing nationwide through my foundation.”

Granderson’s first trip to Cape Girardeau was in May of 2022 when he teamed up with PORCH to host a fitness sports clinic at Capaha Field.

“We just wanted to get out and show kids the importance of getting out and being active,” Granderson said. “We had a really good time out there getting the kids active and having a good time with them.”

Granderson, who across his 16-year MLB career spent time with the Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees and New York Mets to name a few, said he is looking forward to the question and answer component of the evening on April 27.

“When I open up the Q & A, I let everyone know they can ask me whatever they want,” Granderson said. “I know there'll be some topics that PORCH and everybody will want to discuss, but again, I like to open it up for the community just to throw whatever it is that they have at me.”

Now deep into multiple philanthropic efforts at 43 years old, Granderson’s start in the endeavors began when he was with the Detroit Tigers in 2007.

Granderson established his foundation, the Grand Kids Foundation, to impact youth development through various outlets such as education, physical fitness, and nutrition initiatives.

“Being in Detroit in 2007, there were a lot of people telling me about the opportunity to go ahead and create a nonprofit,” Granderson said. “With professional athletes, there’s so many nonprofits, and I think the biggest key is finding something you’re passionate about. At that time, there were things suggested to me that I should do, and I said that didn’t resonate with me. It doesn't mean that it's not important. but for me, it just wasn’t there.”

Growing up, education was a vital piece of Granderson’s life, therefore serving as the driving force in his efforts.

“Education is something that’s always been important to me,” Granderson said. “Both my parents taught in the Chicago Public School System, and my sister currently teaches at the university level. Also, at the time when I was creating this, I was one of a handful of Major League Baseball players with a college degree. So, education was always something very important to us.”

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the beginning of Granderson’s foundation was the timing of it. Granderson was in just his second full season with the Tigers and his fourth overall.

“Personally, it wasn’t that tough to balance,” Granderson said. “It was something that I enjoyed doing. These initiatives and the things I’m pushing for are me. I think that’s why it wasn’t much of a challenge.”

With the well-established Grand Kids Foundation, Granderson realized something was missing.

“OK, well, we're moving around, we have education, and we're trying to promote baseball,” Granderson explained. “But, the one thing that we still have to do in all that is we have to make sure that we feed our body. Food insecurity became one of the top things that the Grand Kids Foundation has focused on, with our big initiative being in November called Grand Giving.”

Since Grand Giving was established in 2013, Granderson and his foundation have supplied over 40 million meals to people in need.

“I remember attending events and thinking how these different fundraisers and groups are raising so much money and doing great things with it,” Granderson said. “I wanted to get to a point where we could do some of those things. The fact that we are at 40 million now is crazy to me.”

Granderson announced his retirement from baseball in January 2020 and now finds himself working for MLB on TBS and also as the President of The Players Alliance, a non-profit comprised of 150 current and former MLB players.

“I wanted to continue to have touchpoints with players,” Granderson said. “The Players Alliance has given me the opportunity to do that.”

Collegiately, Granderson played at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he developed a motto of ‘Don’t think, Have fun’ for his career. that he still applies to his foundations today.

“It’s huge in a number of different ways,” Granderson said. “The biggest thing was always continuing to make sure I was prepared so I could enjoy the moment. So, this initiative that we have going on with PORCH is going to be a fun event because I enjoy the opportunity to just be back.”

For those interested in attending the event, there are various ticket options, including VIP tickets that include a meet and greet with Granderson, an autograph signing and beverages, and hors d’oeuvres.

Click here to buy tickets now or you can get tickets at the door the evening of the event at the Cape Girardeau Sportsplex.