LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Every now and then over the years, fans asked B.J. Upton to sign his legal name for autographs. After the news broke out of Braves camp that the 30-year-old center fielder is officially requesting the public to use his full name -- Melvin Upton Jr., as opposed to the initials for his nickname Bossman Junior -- that's the only signature they'll receive.
Melvin Upton Jr. is the Braves' lone incumbent outfielder this season, but it's going to look like an entirely new depth chart. Upton said he's been considering publicly reverting to his government name for a while, even talking it over with his agent, and decided the time was right as he enters his third season with Atlanta.
"Melvin Upton Jr. is my name. B.J. is a nickname that was given to me as a kid. I feel like I wanted to go by my real name," he said. "My closest friends actually call me Melvin most of the time. So not a lot of people call me B.J., it's kinda funny."
Upton took two names from his father.
The first was the official name, taken from Melvin Emmanuel ("Manny") Upton. The second was the nickname, Bossman Junior, derived from the original Bossman. The elder Upton son -- younger brother Justin was traded to the San Diego Padres during the offseason -- isn't quite sure when people started calling him B.J., but close friends and family have called him Melvin, or Mel, for years.
"Like I said, my dad thought enough to give me his name and why not go by it? ... He loved it. Why wouldn't he? That's his name also," Upton said. "He's happy for me and he's happy about the whole thing."
As the lone holdover, Upton is looking for a bounce-back season on a restructured team with a new hitting coach. In more than 1,000 plate appearances in a Braves uniform, he's hitting .198/.279/.314 with 21 home runs and 324 strikeouts. Even though there's a new name above his locker, Upton said it's not meant to signify a new beginning.
"If you want to look at it that way, you can," Upton said. "You call me what you want, man. It doesn't matter to me. But obviously the people that I've known my whole life and the people I've grown to know don't care, but obviously for the general public my real name is Melvin. That's what I want to be referred to."
