B.J. Upton’s Success: We Called It!

Sportswriters are falling all over themselves today describing the “worst to World Series” story of the Tampa Bay Rays, the long-standing doormat of the American League who began the season as 200-1 longshots to win the Fall Classic but locked up an appearance in baseball’s championship series last night with a win over the Boston Red Sox. To which we at Complex say: Tell us something we don’t already know.

You see, we’ve been riding with the Rays since last winter, when we went down to Chesapeake, Virginia to do a fashion story on the Rays’ center fielder, B.J. Upton, and his brother Justin, the Arizona Diamondbacks’ rightfielder. In fact, as far as we can tell, we’re the only publication to (kind of) predict the Rays would be in the World Series before the season started. Analyze that Baseball Prospectus! Anyway, to celebrate B.J.’s breakout performance in the ALCS (homie shoulda won the MVP!) we revisit our prescient Q&A where B.J. predicted his squad’s success as well as talked about the presence of African-Americans in baseball…

Complex: People talk a lot about the dwindling number of African-American ballplayers in the major leagues. How do approach handling that mantel?

B.J Upton: You definitely have to be proud of it. You don't see a lot of African-Americans in baseball. The kids look on TV they see guys like LeBron James, Michael Jordan, you see the football players like Michael Vick'he used to be Michael Vick you could say'and baseball doesn't appeal to them as much as the other two. We've got to work to try to get those kids to adjust. We have a charity at home that helps kids and tries to get them into baseball, so people are working on it and I think it's going to be better in the future.

Complex: So what are the odds on a Rays-Diamondbacks World Series this year?

[Laughs.] B.J Upton: I'd love to see it and I definitely wouldn't count it out. We're going to be strong this year and we're going to be ready to play.

Complex: Were you jealous when Justin went to the League Championship Series in just his first year?

B.J Upton: I mean, I was a little jealous, but definitely happy for him. I'm just hoping I can get there some day. Because not many get that opportunity and that's what we're working for right now.

Click HERE for our original story on the Upton brothers from the April/May 2008 issue of Complex Magazine.