23-year-old outfielder seems to be reaching a new level in 2011
A chorus of boos rained down each time they announced his name, and with every catcall, every insult, he kept his head up and bit his tongue.
Justin Upton knows exactly what Prince Fielder felt like last week at Chase Field during the State Farm Home Run Derby and the All-Star Game.
The same crowd that voiced support for him by dumping on Fielder for not selecting Upton for the derby sounded just like the same angry mob that used to rail on Upton.
"There was a time when he was disappointed by the fans and their expectations of him," Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson said. "They gave it to him pretty good. And it took him a while to learn how to handle it."
When you're a mega million-dollar bonus baby and you punch your ticket to the big leagues as a 19-year-old, pressure and high expectations tend to follow.
Five years in the majors and still just 23, Upton has reached a new level in his career. He's a two-time All-Star leading his team on a playoff chase, has been one of baseball's best hitters since late May despite a recent 0-for-20 skid, and is starting to earn praise of superstar status by his peers.
"Now," Gibson said, "he's really going to be judged."
Only this time, the former No.1 overall draft pick is better built to deal with it. Though still intensely competitive and prone to slamming his batting helmet after a poor at-bat, Upton has evolved into a different player.
He's more accountable than ever. He's also more humble. He's become a better listener and a genuine student of the game. He even gives better interviews.
The new and matured Upton is making more friends along the way because of it.
"Oh, he's a great player," Red Sox third baseman Kevin Youkilis said. "I like watching him play. He's a great hitter with great pop and a great defender with a great arm. It's just too bad that people on the East Coast don't always get to see him because he's one of the game's great young players."
Youkilis is reminded of teammate Adrian Gonzalez and how the first baseman's move this year from the Padres to the Red Sox has catapulted Gonzalez's celebrity.
"I didn't know him that much and neither did a lot of our fans," Youkilis said, "but now everybody loves him."
Gonzalez laughs when he is told of Youkilis' comments.
"Justin's already known throughout baseball," he said last week during All-Star festivities. "He's been a great player and he's done a lot of great things here in Arizona. He's going to continue to get better.
"If he continues to mature, he'll be one of the great ones."
Of that, Gibson has no doubt. Expectations can help push athletes to the next level, he agrees, but it is Upton's quiet knowing that will propel him to the highest precipice.
"He's going to go through it with confidence that in the end he will have defined himself historically in this game," Gibson said. "Who knows? He may define a whole new different level."
Upton already has changed the perception of Phoenix sports fans. Their cheers for him and jeers for Fielder helped bury the myth that Arizona roots loudest for visiting teams and players.
"The support was awesome," he said. "It was huge and you love to see that kind of intensity from the fans; that love for their team and their own players. I won't forget that."
Neither will Fielder, who said, "It just shows you how much Justin means to them."
Among major leaguers pulling for Upton to keep rocketing skyward, perhaps no one cares deeper than Minnesota Twins veteran Michael Cuddyer. They went to the same high school in Chesapeake, Va., though several years apart. Cuddyer's wife was Upton's 10th-grade English teacher there.
"I've been following Justin and his brother (B.J.) for years," Cuddyer said. "We talk quite a bit, especially during the off-season. We do a clinic together every December, too.
"Let me tell you, he's going to be one of the best players to ever play, honestly. He's definitely got that potential. He definitely has the talent. And he's living up to it. He's only 23 and he's as good as it gets."
The day Upton signed his first contract with the Diamondbacks, his brother predicted such greatness. He suggested Justin could be every bit as good as a Ken Griffey Jr. or an Alex Rodriguez.
"All he has to do," B.J. Upton said, "is to make sure he keeps his head on straight."
Cuddyer nodded when that quote was relayed to him.
"He is and he will. That's what's so good about Justin - that he will keep his head on straight," Cuddyer said. "He will work hard and continue to try and improve and we're going to see something pretty darn special."
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