B. J. Upton

Melvin Emmanuel Upton (born August 21, 1984 in Norfolk, Virginia) is a Major League Baseball center fielder for the Tampa Bay Rays. Upton is a graduate of Greenbrier Christian Academy. His nickname, B. J., is short for Bossman Junior, and he is known as B.J. Upton. His brother, Justin Upton, plays for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

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. 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. He had 24 home runs, and was 22-8 in stolen base attempts that season. 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, B. J. Upton was part of the American League Champion Tampa Bay Rays, hitting .273 with just nine home runs and 44 stolen bases. 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 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.