BJ Upton Changes Name, Hopes Changed Numbers Will Follow
His brother's gone west, and his stats have gone south.
So maybe Melvin Emanuel Upton Jr felt it was time for him to make a change, too.
The way his stint with the Braves has gone, he's due for a witness protection program T-shirt, anyway. Assuming, of course, he could keep that straight.
There was a time when Upton was truly Bossman Jr:
Upton's far from the first player to opt for a different version of his given name:
- Giancarlo Stanton obviously didn't want to be confused with a former major-leaguer whom few remember.
- David Ortiz began his career as David Arias.
- And who could forget Fausto Carmona, even though Cleveland fans would like to.
In a way, even Willie Mays went by different names. The press dubbed him the Say Hey Kid, but ballplayers called him Buck.
No doubt, Upton inked his five year, $72million deal with Atlanta as Melvin. And at this stage, the Braves don't really care what he calls himself. They want to call him anything but a bust so they don't have to go out and sign a Zolio or a Todd to cover for him while putting up similar stats for much less dosh.
He'd better get that hitch sorted or Braves Nation will be calling him a lot of things much more creative than Melvin.