Now a Yankee, Curtis Granderson never hated them

When Curtis Granderson was growing up in Chicago and imagining those backyard ninth-inning walk-off World Series homers, were the New York Yankees the hated opposition?

“Really, there was no other team,” he said. “I was playing for the Braves, but there was never another team.”

Granderson is grown now and playing for the Yankees, not the Atlanta Braves. But he might have a chance to hit a walk-off home run in the World Series — if the New Yorkers can survive the best-of-seven American League Championship Series that starts Friday against the Rangers in Arlington, Texas.

For someone who didn’t live that far from Comiskey Park, Granderson somehow grew up without learning to hate the Yankees.

“I didn’t follow the Yankees much growing up,” the center fielder said. “Being in Chicago, you’re saturated with the White Sox and Cubs, and the Braves were on TBS.

“And also, when I was growing up, the Yankees weren’t that good. Honestly, from that era, outside of [ Derek] Jeter coming up, there are not many guys I could name off those teams.”

Having played for the Detroit Tigers, however, Granderson quickly learned that “detest” was a rather mild word for describing the way most baseball fans feel about the once-again Bronx Bombers.

And after being traded to New York last winter for potential rookie of the year Austin Jackson, he learned up close and personal about being a Yankee. He was booed at Yankee Stadium when he was hitting .240 in mid-August and was being benched against left-handed pitchers.

All now has been forgiven with those fans.

After his low point, Granderson finished the season with 14 homers and a .375 on-base percentage over the last six weeks.

And then came the AL division series against the Minnesota Twins, when he had the game-winning RBI in Game 1 and went three for four in Game 2. For the series, he hit .455 with three RBIs and a stolen base.

Included were two games Granderson started against left-handers because, as Manager Joe Girardi said, “I believe in this kid. He has worked hard, he has made adjustments, he’s a force.”

If the division series proved one thing, it’s that Granderson is the “go” factor in a very potent Yankees offense.

Sure, they can win without him, but that lineup becomes an opponent’s nightmare when Granderson is creating havoc from the No. 2 spot versus righties and No. 8 against lefties.

This is completely different from 2006, when Granderson hit .226 in 13 postseason games. In the Tigers’ World Series loss to the Cardinals, he hit .095 with seven strikeouts in 21 at-bats.

“A lot went into that,” he said. “We didn’t get to hit for a week or nine days [because of the early division series clinch]. You can simulate games as much as you want, but it’s not like playing in a game.”

And there’s nothing like playing in the postseason for the Yankees.

“Coming over here, I think there’s a lot of doubts about what it is,” he said. “People will tell you it’s different, but nobody can tell you what it is or how it is different. It’s really not too different, a little bit more media, but not like it goes from none to 100. Nothing crazy.”

It’s a long way from those days of hitting “home runs” for the Braves.

dvandyck@tribune.com