B. J. Upton

B. J. Upton
Atlanta Braves – No. 2
Center fielder
Born: (1984-08-21) August 21, 1984 Norfolk, Virginia
Bats: Right Throws: Right
debut
August 2, 2004, for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Career statistics (through May 24, 2014)
Batting average	.247
Hits	1,017
Home runs	131
Run batted in	483
Stolen bases	252
Teams
Tampa Bay Devil Rays/Tampa Bay Rays (2004, 2006–2012) Atlanta Braves (2013–present)

Melvin Emanuel "B. J." Upton (born August 21, 1984) is an American professional baseball center fielder with the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB).

Upton's brother, Justin Upton, also plays with the Braves. B.J. and Justin are the only two brothers in MLB history to be selected in the number one and two slot of the draft (in separate years). The Upton brothers are also the first brothers to make it into the 20–20 Club (both have hit 20 home runs and have 20 stolen bases in a season).

High school

Upton is a graduate of Greenbrier Christian Academy.

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 RBIs during his senior year at Greenbrier.

Before high school, Upton also played in the same little league as several other current Major League players including Mark Reynolds, David Wright, and Ryan Zimmerman.

Minor leagues

Upton was drafted second overall in the 2002 Major League Baseball Draft by Tampa Bay out of Greenbrier Christian Academy in Chesapeake, Virginia. He was widely considered a very polished prospect able to hit for both power and average.

Upton was ranked as the # 21 prospect in baseball before the 2003 season by Baseball America, and as the # 2 prospect a year later in 2004. In both 2004 and 2005, Upton was the starting shortstop in the All-Star Futures Game. In 2003, Upton committed 56 errors, leading the minor leagues.

Major leagues

Tampa Bay Rays (2004 – 2012)

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. 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. In 2004 he started 16 games at shortstop, 11 at third base, and 1 in left field. In 2006, he had 48 starts, all at third base.

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 quadriceps. The injury forced him out of action until July 13. Before the injury, he was batting .320/.396/.545 with 9 home runs. Starting 48 games at second base in 2007, he committed 12 errors, fifth in the league for the year. Although he played mostly second base until the injury, Upton became the team's starting center fielder upon returning.

In 2007, he had 24 home runs, and was 22 out of 30 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 just nine home runs and 44 stolen bases (second in the AL; while he led the AL in times caught stealing, with 16). However, he would become one of the team's post-season heroes, as he hit 7 home runs in the three post-season series' Tampa Bay played in.

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 a crucial game tying run moments before the game was 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.

He became the first player of the Tampa Bay Rays to hit for the cycle, doing so on October 2, 2009. In 2009, he batted .241, his 42 stolen bases were third in the league (as he was caught a third-most 14 times), and his 152 strikeouts were fifth in the AL.

In 2010, he batted .237, his 164 strikeouts were 2nd in the American League, and his 42 steals were 5th.

Upton during his tenure with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2011

In April 2011, The Boston Globe reported that two evaluators in major league baseball opined that the Rays may explore a trade for Upton.

On September 11, 2011, Upton hit his first grand slam in a game against the Boston Red Sox.

On August 3, 2012, B.J. Upton hit his 100th career home run. His brother, Justin Upton would hit his 100th career home run the same day.

On September 9, 2012, Upton hit his first 3 home run game in a game against the Texas Rangers.

In the final game of the 2012 season, Upton hit a base hit into left and was taken out of the game for his final appearance for the Rays.

Atlanta Braves

During the 2012-2013 offseason, Upton entered free agency where he signed a 5-year, $75.25 million contract with the Atlanta Braves. This contract was the largest free agent contract ever by the Braves, surpassing the 15 million dollar-a-year deal they inked with starting pitcher Derek Lowe in the offseason before the 2009 season. He was introduced as a member of the club during his press conference on November 29, 2012.

He and his brother hit back to back home runs on April 23, 2013 against the Colorado Rockies, which was the first time brothers hit back to back home runs since 1938.

Upton's offensive output suffered in 2013. He batted just .184 with 26 RBI in 126 games, and had the second-highest strikeout rate among hitters with at least 400 plate appearances. Baseball Reference put his offensive value at −1.3 wins above replacement.

On April 26, 2014, Upton recorded his 1000th career hit in a game against the Cincinnati Reds on an infield single that deflected off the glove of Reds pitcher Mike Leake, who attempted to make a play on the ball.

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. 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".

During the Rays' June 27, 2010 home game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Upton loafed after a ball hit by Rusty Ryal into left-center field, allowing a double to become a triple. At the end of that half inning, Evan Longoria approached Upton in the dugout, obviously to mention his displeasure with Upton's effort. Upton immediately became irate at the criticism and argued face-to-face with Longoria, repeatedly pointing a finger in his face, until Longoria walked away while Rays player Willy Aybar grabbed Upton by the waist and took him away from the scene.

See also

• List of Major League Baseball leaders in career stolen bases

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
• BJ Upton on X
• 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