Curtis Granderson doesn't have to be here. He's got money; he's got fame; he's been an MLB All-Star three times; and, well, he's a New York Yankee.
So he would have been forgiven for staying home, relaxing, and nursing the bumps and bruises one accrues over the course of a 162-game season (plus New York's nine playoff games).
Except that Granderson is sitting on the edge of his seat, hands clasped neatly in his lap and dressed in a stylish suit, as he waits for his ride to Waseda University — where he'll participate in a panel discussion — in the lobby of a Tokyo hotel.