What Has He Done For Us Lately?

Thank Elway it’s baseball season again. If I have to sit through any more coverage of the NFL draft (which is still a month away, I might add) watching Mel Kiper Jr. create his umpteenth mock draft, I might have an explosion of Milton Bradley-esque proportions complete with equipment chucking and the subsequent tearing of my ACL. With Opening Day now just a memory it’s time to forget about BALCO and the Mitchell Report and start focusing on the actual game itself. You know, the national pastime, fastballs and sliders, double switches and designated hitters, Helton and Pujols instead of creams and needles, HGH and steroids, and Canseco and Clemens. What’s most refreshing about the new season is the budding youth movement happening in both leagues. The baseball preview issue of Sports Illustrated highlighted the 2005 draft class, touting them as perhaps the greatest class ever. Lofty praise, yes, but the game is counting on these six babyfaced stars to raise the game out of the muck of the offseason’s scandals. The cover of SI showcased the six brightest young stars in the game: Brewers 3B and 2007 NL Rookie of the Year Ryan Braun, Diamondbacks OF Justin Upton, Rockies SS Troy Tulowitzki who deserved the ROY over Braun, Red Sox youngsters Jacoby Ellsbury and Clay Buchholz, and rounded out by Nationals 3B Ryan Zimmerman. I completely agree with five of their six choices for this cover but one of their picks keeps baffling me and it makes me wonder, what has Justin Upton ever done to deserve so much credit in the national media?

Throughout the magazine baseball preview circuit Upton graced not one but three covers of prominent sports magazines: the aforementioned Sports Illustrated, the fantasy baseball issue of ESPN the Magazine, and USA Today’s Sports Weekly. Why has the media embraced him so readily, touting him as the next Ken Griffey, Jr when all he is is potentially potent? Braun’s offensive numbers last year were so gaudy that the Rookie of the Year voters overlooked the fact that he was an absolute butcher in the field, committing 26 errors in only 112 games leading to a position change from third base to left field. Tulowitzki, at 23 years old already the recognized leader in a Rockies clubhouse that includes the irreplaceable Todd Helton, enjoyed the best season ever by a rookie NL shortstop with 24 home runs, 99 rbi’s, also leading the majors with a .987 fielding percentage as his team enjoyed the franchise’s first ever trip to the World Series. The fact that Jimmy Rollins beat him out for a Gold Glove is a travesty to discuss at a later date. Jacoby Ellsbury was arguably the Red Sox playoff MVP, acting as a sparkplug for the World Champs while all Buchholz did was throw a no hitter in only his second Major League start. Rounding out the class of ’05 is Zimmerman who has slugged 20+ home runs in each of his first two full seasons while playing Gold Glove caliber defense as the Nationals have pegged him as the cornerstone of their franchise.

Now we look at Upton’s pedigree. Yes, he is a five tool number one pick who has been scouted by the pros since he was in diapers. His brother, Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays outfielder B.J. Upton, has already established himself as a successful player for the up and coming Rays. The media claimed that Upton’s promotion to the Diamondbacks roster late in the 2007 season was one of the main catalysts for the D-Backs run to the NLCS. They must have just overlooked the fact that he hit only .221 with 2 hrs and 11 rbi’s in 43 games, barely making the postseason roster. Yes, he hit .357 in the playoffs, but only .222 in the NLCS that saw the D-Backs fall in four straight games to their NL West rival Rockies. What he is most famous, or rather infamous, for in that series is his interference call that cost the Baby Backs a chance at a big inning in Game 1. Late in the game, a leadoff double off Rockies starter Jeff Francis brought Upton to the plate. Francis hit him with a breaking ball, and Upton apparently felt like the mild mannered Francis had purposefully fired a 78 mph slider at his left thigh. Upton took offense and pouted on his way down to first. The next batter hit a groundball at Tulowitzki who flipped it to Kaz Matsui at second to try for the double play but Upton’s slide wasn’t just aggressive, it was dirty. He popped off the bag and upended Matsui, keeping him from throwing to first. The umpire correctly ruled that Upton had gone out of his way to break up the play and called him out leading the always classy and infinitely knowledgeable D-Backs fans to litter the field with anything they could get their artificially tanned hands on. Not only did his youthful inexperience cost him with his dismal performance at the plate, but his hot-headedness ended any hope of a different result for his team as the Rockies went on to win the game 5-1 and the series in four games.

Tulowitzki and Upton are prepared to be the figureheads of a growing NL West rivalry that will hopefully only continue to simmer as the weather heats up. Tulowitzki has the upper hand right now as he has arrived as the unspoken leader and starting shortstop of the National League Champions while Upton remains a cover boy who’s only claim to fame is his supposedly limitless potential. So on Opening Day, how did Upton respond to his newfound fame? By going 0-4 with two strikeouts at a soggy day in Wrigley Field. It’s obvious he has a long way to go to attain the respect and results of his Class of ’05 brethren.

Addendum: Since writing this article April 1, Upton has gone on to knock 2 home runs in his first four games including a prodigious blast against our very own Matt Herges in the Rockies' home opener. While this does perhaps knock my story down a peg or two from its pedestal I stick by the fact that he still has a long way to go to catch the rest of his draft class. He's off to a good start this year but there's still 158 games left for him to prove me right.