B.J. Upton Is Now Melvin Upton Jr.
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Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — B.J. Upton hasn’t lived up to his five-year, $75 million dollar contract he signed with the Atlanta Braves after the 2012 season so he’s making a change.
The 30-year-old Upton has changed his name back to his birth name, Melvin Upton Jr. B.J. was short for Bossman — his father’s nickname — Junior, according to multiple reports.
Upton, who was the second overall pick in the 2002 amateur draft, followed up the 2013 season, where he set career-lows in batting average, RBIs, stolen bases and on-base percentage, with a very poor 2014 season during which he hit .208 with 12 home runs in 141 games.
During Upton’s final season in Tampa Bay in 2012, he played in 146 games hitting .246 with a career-high 28 home runs and 31 stolen bases.
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