B. J. Upton

Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (2004-2016)

B. J. Upton was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 2004 to 2016 for 4 teams, including the Tampa Bay Rays, a span of 13 seasons. In 1,469 career games, he hit .243 with 1,260 hits, 164 home runs, and 586 RBI.

AVG (Batting Average):
Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
HR (Home Runs):
Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
RBI (Runs Batted In):
Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.

Data updated

AVG .243
HR 164
RBI 586
H 1,260
OPS .723
PIV -346
Position
Outfielder
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'3" / 185 lb
Born
8/21/1984 in Norfolk, VA, USA
MLB Debut
2004-08-02
Last Game
2016-10-02

Full name: Melvin Emanuel Upton

📊 Compare This Player 📈 View Career Timeline

Career Batting Statistics

B. J. Upton — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,469 5,175 723 1,260 262 32 164 586 300 589 1,561 .243 .321 .402 .723 -346

Career AVG .243 vs. league average .259 across their career seasons — 6.1% below league average.

Career OBP .321 vs. league average .326 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .402 vs. league average .411 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OPS .723 vs. league average .736 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

B. J. Upton Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
2004 TBA AL 45 159 19 41 8 2 4 12 4 15 46 .258 .266 (-3%) .335 (-3%) .427 (-4%) .762 (-4%) -114.6
2006 TBA AL 50 175 20 43 5 0 1 10 11 13 40 .246 .269 (-9%) .336 (-10%) .431 (-33%) .768 (-23%) -632.2
2007 TBA AL 129 474 86 142 25 1 24 82 22 65 154 .300 .268 (+12%) .335 (+15%) .422 (+20%) .758 (+18%) 1880.0
2008 TBA AL 145 531 85 145 37 2 9 67 44 97 134 .273 .263 (+4%) .333 (+15%) .416 (-4%) .749 (+5%) 829.3
2009 TBA AL 144 560 79 135 33 4 11 55 42 57 152 .241 .262 (-8%) .332 (-6%) .417 (-11%) .750 (-9%) -801.8
2010 TBA AL 154 536 89 127 38 4 18 62 42 67 164 .237 .257 (-8%) .325 (-1%) .402 (+5%) .728 (+2%) 215.9
2011 TBA AL 153 560 82 136 27 4 23 81 36 71 161 .243 .255 (-5%) .320 (+3%) .399 (+7%) .719 (+6%) 691.6
2012 TBA AL 146 573 79 141 29 3 28 78 31 45 169 .246 .254 (-3%) .318 (-6%) .405 (+12%) .724 (+4%) 232.6
2013 ATL NL 126 391 30 72 14 0 9 26 12 44 151 .184 .253 (-27%) .317 (-16%) .396 (-27%) .714 (-22%) -1350.8
2014 ATL NL 141 519 67 108 19 5 12 35 20 57 173 .208 .251 (-17%) .313 (-9%) .386 (-14%) .700 (-11%) -893.2
2015 SDN NL 87 205 23 53 12 4 5 17 9 21 62 .259 .254 (+2%) .316 (+3%) .404 (+6%) .721 (+5%) 175.9
2016 SDN NL 92 344 46 88 11 2 16 45 20 23 106 .256 .255 (avg) .321 (-6%) .417 (+5%) .738 (+1%) -26.5
2016 TOR AL 57 148 18 29 4 1 4 16 7 14 49 .196 .255 (-23%) .321 (-19%) .417 (-24%) .738 (-22%) -26.5
Career · 13 seasons 1,469 5,175 723 1,260 262 32 164 586 300 589 1,561 .243 — — — — 180

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

B. J. Upton — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
37 115 21 29 7 1 8 19 10 37 .252

Playoff Batting by Year

B. J. Upton — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
2016 ALCS TOR 5 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 .000
2016 ALDS1 TOR 3 6 1 2 1 0 1 1 1 1 .333
2016 ALWC TOR 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2013 NLDS2 ATL 3 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .000
2011 ALDS2 TBA 4 14 3 4 3 0 0 0 4 6 .286
2010 ALDS1 TBA 5 21 0 4 2 0 0 2 0 7 .190
2008 ALCS TBA 7 28 8 9 1 0 4 11 4 7 .321
2008 ALDS2 TBA 4 18 5 5 0 1 3 4 1 5 .278
2008 WS TBA 5 20 3 5 0 0 0 1 0 4 .250

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1469 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

B. J. Upton — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home753254937062082289.243
Away716262635364082297.244

Last 10 Games — Batting

B. J. Upton — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
2016-10-02 TORBOSW 200000001
2016-10-01 TORBOSW 201000001
2016-09-29 TORBALL 100000000
2016-09-28 TORBALL 100000001
2016-09-27 TORBALW 100000000
2016-09-26 TORNYYL 000000000
2016-09-25 TORNYYW 010000010
2016-09-24 TORNYYW 200000010
2016-09-23 TORNYYW 101000000
2016-09-21 TORSEAL 100000001

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

B. J. Upton — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
2B 48 48 106 133 12 26
3B 63 59 48 100 15 6
OF 1278 1218 2941 79 39 23
SS 16 16 23 41 7 8

Season-by-Season Fielding

B. J. Upton — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
2004 TBA 3B 13 11 10 12 2 0
2004 TBA OF 1 1 0 0 0 0
2004 TBA SS 16 16 23 41 7 8
2006 TBA 3B 50 48 38 88 13 6
2007 TBA 2B 48 48 106 133 12 26
2007 TBA OF 78 75 204 11 2 2
2008 TBA OF 143 141 378 16 7 5
2009 TBA OF 144 141 375 6 4 1
2010 TBA OF 154 147 397 3 5 0
2011 TBA OF 151 150 382 6 3 3
2012 TBA OF 142 141 290 10 3 4
2013 ATL OF 118 111 230 3 4 3
2014 ATL OF 139 135 329 9 7 3
2015 SDN OF 63 47 116 6 1 0
2016 SDN OF 90 88 165 8 2 2
2016 TOR OF 55 41 75 1 1 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

B. J. Upton Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Second Base 48
Third Base 63
Shortstop 16
Left Field 122
Center Field 1159
Right Field 3
Designated Hitter 23

Awards & Honors

B. J. Upton — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
2012 Player of the Week Week of 2012-09-09
2009 Player of the Month June
2009 Player of the Week Week of 2009-06-20
2007 Player of the Week Week of 2007-07-21

Salary History

B. J. Upton — Salary History
Year Team League Salary
2016 SDN NL $15,450,000
2015 SDN NL $14,450,000
2014 ATL NL $13,450,000
2013 ATL NL $13,050,000
2012 TBA AL $7,000,000
2011 TBA AL $4,825,000
2010 TBA AL $3,000,000
2009 TBA AL $435,000
2008 TBA AL $412,100
2007 TBA AL $386,900
Total Career Earnings $72,459,000

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

B. J. Upton (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Carlos Gomez
    .252 avg, 145 HR
  2. 86
    Lloyd Moseby
    .257 avg, 169 HR
  3. 85
    Chris Young
    .235 avg, 191 HR
  4. 83
    Brett Gardner
    .256 avg, 139 HR
  5. 77
    Tommy Harper
    .257 avg, 146 HR
  6. 76
    Ruppert Jones
    .250 avg, 147 HR

B. J. Upton: the record in brief

The profile opens with B. J. Upton's first major league game on August 2, 2004; the last one listed came on October 2, 2016. The team column moves through the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2004 through 2007), the Tampa Bay Rays (2008 through 2012), the Atlanta Braves (2013 to 2014), the San Diego Padres (2015 to 2016), and the Toronto Blue Jays (2016). Upton played primarily as an outfielder and threw and hit right-handed. The bio adds a birth date on August 21, 1984, in Norfolk, VA, USA and a listed size of 6'3" and 185 pounds. B. J. Upton was the playing name; the full given name is Melvin Emanuel.

The batting record for Upton: 1,469 games, 1,260 hits in 5,175 at bats, and a .243 average, adding 164 homers, 586 RBI, and 300 stolen bases. The on-base percentage is .321 and the slugging percentage .402, for an OPS of .723. The league as a whole hit .259 across Upton's seasons, which puts the .243 career mark 6.1% below average. For power, 2012 stands out: 28 home runs with the Tampa Bay Rays. No season topped the 145 hits of 2008.

Frequently Asked Questions about B. J. Upton

What years did B. J. Upton play?
B. J. Upton played in Major League Baseball from 2004 to 2016.
Was B. J. Upton a pitcher?
No. B. J. Upton was a position player (Outfielder).
How many home runs did B. J. Upton hit?
B. J. Upton hit 164 career home runs with 1260 hits.
What was B. J. Upton's career batting average?
B. J. Upton batted .243 over his career, with 1,260 hits in 5,175 at bats.
How many RBI did B. J. Upton have?
B. J. Upton drove in 586 runs in his career.
Is B. J. Upton in the Hall of Fame?
No. B. J. Upton has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.