Q&A: D-backs' emerging star Upton speaks up
http://tinyurl.com/4lnh8v
by Ken Rosenthal
He is still only 20. It's easy to forget that when listening to Diamondbacks
right fielder Justin Upton talk or watching him play.
Upton hit his sixth home run Thursday in the D-backs' 8-3 victory over the
Philllies. His .973 on-base/slugging percentage ranks 12th in the National
League.
Imagine how good he might be when he figures this game out.
This weekend, Upton and the Diamondbacks visit Wrigley Field (MLB on Fox,
Saturday, 3:40 p.m. ET), where they last were seen upsetting the Cubs in last
year's NL Division Series.
The D-backs' improvement since then is due in large part to the maturation of
their young hitters. Upton, the younger brother of Rays center fielder B.J.
Upton, figures to be the best of all of them. But he doesn't act that way. He
doesn't talk that way. He's a young professional, learning his trade.
And yes, he's trying to prove a point to a certain sibling.
Question: You've been quoted as saying about B.J., "He always beat up on me."
What was the worst thing he ever did to you?
Answer: You know, he was kind of a tough big brother. But to be honest with
you, it was always the same thing. We got into it, we'd fight, then it was over
with and we'd go do something. He wasn't too tough on me where he just left me
hanging. He was pretty cool about it. But as far as playing sports, he would
always beat up on me because he was three years older than me.
Q: That must have been frustrating.
A: It was frustrating at a younger age. Then I realized, he's older, he's
supposed to be better than me.
Q: What was the first time you got his attention, where you scared him into
thinking, "OK, I had better leave my little brother alone now."
A: I don't think he's come to that realization yet. He still thinks he can
handle me. I outweigh him by 20 pounds, but he still thinks he can take me.
Q: What is the one thing that he does that you wish you could do?
A: He's a great baserunner. I run the bases well, but as far as stealing bases,
things like that, he's probably one of the best I've seen. I'd definitely like
to be able to do that. I'm working on it.
Q: What is the one thing that he probably wishes he could do as well as you?
A: I think he wishes he could hit for power like I do. There has never really
been separation between us. He still hits for power, but there are two
different kinds of power. He hits lofty, towering home runs. Every once in a
while, he will hit that liner out of the yard. My power is different than that.
It's hard to explain. Putting a charge in the ball, he doesn't do that. He just
kind of backspins the ball. I kind of put a charge in it.
Q: B.J. played on a travel team in Virginia with the Mets' David Wright,
Nationals' Ryan Zimmerman and your teammate, Mark Reynolds. I heard you were
the batboy.
A: I just kind of hung around. I wasn't much of a batboy. I was always watching
the game. It was amazing to watch. They all got along pretty well. They were a
heck of a team.
Q: How did they treat you? Did they treat you like a kid brother or a guy who
eventually would be like them?
A: I was the kid brother, definitely. I was more the kid brother than the next
coming. They let me hang around. But I got treated like a kid brother.
Q: When did that start to change? When did people start treating you as
something more than the kid brother?
A: After high school, when I got drafted and I was in pro ball. When I was in
high school, I never saw any of them. They were all away. But then, when I came
back from my first season and everyone was home, I was kind of one of the guys
then.
Q: Do you talk a lot with Reynolds about those days?
A: No. I guess when our families come around, we get into conversations about
things like that. But right now, we're at one of the most exciting points of
our lives. We're kind of taking this in.
Q: When the Diamondbacks selected you with the first overall pick in 2005, how
quickly did you think you could get to the big leagues?
A: My thoughts were maybe 3, 3.5 years. My goal was to get there earlier than
that, but realistically I was thinking it would take that long.
Q: When did you start to realize that maybe you had a chance to come quicker?
A: When I got called up to Double-A after a month of A-ball last season. When I
got to Double-A, I was swinging the bat pretty well. Right off the bat I hit
some home runs, I was driving in runners. At point, I was like, "It's not far
fetched for maybe September if I continue to swing the bat well."
From that point on, I was all-out working every day, making sure I was prepared
. Once you're at Double-A, anything can happen. I wasn't expecting anything,
but I was working hard, making sure that I was playing well.
Q: You got called up on Aug. 2. How different is this season now that you're an
everyday player in the big leagues?
A: When I started in A-ball last year, I set a goal of getting to Double-A and
possibly making an impact there. Making it to the big leagues was a surprise.
Being an everyday player now, it's a lot easier learning, being able to see
pitchers each day, being able to get used to the life and the grind of playing
each day in the big leagues.
Rather than just playing on natural ability, I'm making adjustments. Every day
you make small adjustments to different pitchers at different points of the
game. That's the biggest thing. Being able to make one-pitch adjustments, other
adjustments.
Q: How do you go about making those adjustments?
A: I'm not much of a video guy. I'm more of a feel guy. When I'm facing a
pitcher — and most of them I haven't seen — I definitely have to make sure
that I do my homework and get a feel for what each pitcher has; what I'm
getting myself into, really.
Q: Your hitting coach, Rick Schu, says that you always have a plan at home
plate. Is that something you developed instinctively, or did it happen over
time?
A: It was more over time. When I was younger, I went in there seeing the ball,
hitting the ball. To a certain extent I still do that. But as far as certain
approaches to certain guys, that has kind of come with time. I've always really
had a plan. I've learned over time to stick with my plan. If I'm going to get
beat, get beat having a plan.
Q: Off the field, what has been your biggest adjustment to the major-league
lifestyle?
A: You know what? I really haven't changed much up. Me and Chris Young hang out
a lot. We try to make sure we do something each day, so that our days don't get
routine. That's been the biggest adjustment, making sure you don't get into a
routine of waking up, going to the field, coming home, going to sleep. It gets
tough. The season goes a lot faster that way. But it's not good for you
mentally. You've got to make sure when you're off the field, that you have a
day. It's an adjustment, making sure you get up early enough to make sure that
you do something during the day.
Q: You were Baseball America's top prospect among 14-year-olds, its top
prospect among 15-year-olds. What was it like hearing that?
A: At that point, it was just cool. I was so young, I was like, "Man, I'm
really playing that well?" At that point, it wasn't much of a business as it is
now. I still have fun playing the game. But when you're that young you think,
"Man, that's really cool." And the next day you just come out and have fun
playing the game again.
Q: You were a shortstop in high school. How much do you miss playing the
position? Do you even think about it anymore?
A: Yeah, it was fun. I liked being at shortstop, the leader of the infield. Now
I'm on a corner, not even in center field. Sometimes I think back. The best
thing about now is that I'm in the big leagues, I've got a position and I'm
contributing to a ballclub. I can't ask for much more than that.
Q: You've been compared to some very big names — A-Rod, Ken Griffey Jr., Gary
Sheffield. How do you keep a level head when people say those kinds of things?
A: Just look at my numbers from last year (Upton batted .221 in the regular
season with two homers in 140 at-bats). I still have a lot of work to do. If
people hold me in the same category as those guys, I still have to make sure
that I still do that, still live up to that. I've got to get better each year
and let my abilities show.
Q: It sounds like you've never gotten caught up in such talk.
A: It's tough not to. At a young age, it was tougher. Now I'm in the big
leagues, on the same level as everyone else. I'm out here grinding each day.
Q: Do you think about what you might accomplish or do you simply try to do your
best every day?
A: Sometimes you get caught thinking about what kind of ballplayer you can be.
But the games are tough, man. You go out one day and might have a heck of a day
and then the next day you struggle.
It's hard to think about what you're going to be when the game is so up and
down. Every single day, I try to get better, take a step forward, not a step
back.
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