B.J Upton
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B.J Upton
Tampa Bay Rays — No. 2
Center fielder
Born: August 21, 1984 (1984-08-21) (age 24)
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
MLB debut
August 2, 2003 for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Career statistics (through 2008)
Batting average	.277
Home runs	38
Runs batted in	171
On base percentage	.367
Stolen bases	81
Teams
Tampa Bay Devil Rays/Rays (2004), (2006–present)

Melvin Emmanuel "B. J." Upton (born August 21, 1984 in Norfolk, Virginia) is a Major League Baseball center fielder for the Tampa Bay Rays.

His nickname, B.J.'is short for Bossman Junior—his father's nickname was "Bossman." His brother, Justin Upton, plays for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

College and minor league career

As a member of the 2001 Team USA Junior National team, Upton batted .462 (12-for-26) in nine games. The team went 9-2 and won the Silver Medal in Cuba that year. In 2002, Upton was named a first-team All-American by Baseball America, batting .641 (50-for-78) with 11 doubles, 4 triples, 11 home runs and 32 RBI during his senior year at Greenbrier.¹

Upton was drafted second overall in the 2002 Major League Baseball Draft by Tampa Bay out of Greenbrier Christian Academy in Chesapeake, Virginia. Widely considered a very polished prospect able to hit for both power and average, he was kept in the minor leagues until 2007 by poor defensive play at shortstop.

In 2003, Upton committed 56 errors, leading the minor leagues. He was ranked as the #21 prospect in baseball that year by Baseball America, and as the #2 prospect a year later in 2004.² He made his major league debut on August 2, 2004, becoming the youngest Ray ever and the youngest player in the major leagues in 2004. In that game against the Boston Red Sox, he went 1-3 with a walk, with his hit being a seventh-inning single off Tim Wakefield. His younger brother, Justin, was taken with the top overall choice of the 2005 Major League Baseball Draft, making them the highest-drafted siblings of all time.³ Upton was the starting shortstop in both the 2004 and 2005 All-Star Futures Games.

Major league career

In 2007, Upton emerged from spring training as the Rays' starting second baseman. On June 8, Upton was forced to leave a game against the Florida Marlins early due to a strained left quadricep.⁴ The injury forced him out of action until July 13. Before the injury, he was batting .320/.396/.545 with 9 home runs. Although he played mostly second base until the injury, Upton has been the team's starting center fielder since returning.

In 2007, he had 24 home runs, and was 22-8 in stolen base attempts. He was one of only 6 batters in the AL to have at least 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases, along with Alex Rodriguez, Gary Sheffield, Ian Kinsler, Grady Sizemore, and Curtis Granderson.

In 2008, he was part of the American League Champion Tampa Bay Rays, hitting .273 with nine home runs and 44 stolen bases. He has been one of the team's playoff heroes, hitting 7 home runs in three postseason series.

During the 2008 ALDS against the Chicago White Sox, Upton hit three home runs and drove in four runs. Against the Boston Red Sox in the 2008 ALCS he hit four home runs and drove in 11. In game 5 of the World Series, Upton stole second base and scored the tying run, making the score 2-2. The game was then suspended due to torrential rain. It resumed two nights later and the Rays lost the World Series to the Philadelphia Phillies, 4 games to 1.

Criticism

During the 2008 season, Upton was twice disciplined by Rays manager Joe Maddon for lack of hustle. On August 6, Upton was held out of the lineup for failing to run out a ground ball the night before.⁵ On August 15, Upton was benched in the sixth inning for not running out a double play ball. He was replaced by Justin Ruggiano. A few days later, Upton hit a ball to left field that bounced off the wall. From the crack of the bat, Upton reacted to it as a home run, dropping the bat and casually jogging down the first base line. He then tried to stretch it into a double and was thrown out by the left fielder. He was not benched for this incident, however. Joe Maddon was interviewed and called it "just a mental mistake".⁶

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or Baseball-Reference, or The Baseball Cube
• B.J. Upton interview at Baseball Digest Daily
• B.J. Upton interview with Baseball Prospectus
• Year-by-Year League Leaders for Youngest Player: Baseball-Reference.com