BIOGRAPHY
Justin Upton was born on August 25, 1987, in Norfolk, Virginia. He is an outfielder in the MLB.
He previously played for the Arizona Diamondbacks from 2007 to 2012, Atlanta Braves in 2013 and 2014, San Diego Padres in 2015, and the Detroit Tigers in 2016 and 2017. He has been a teammate of his brother Melvin Upton Jr. with both the Braves and the Padres. While primarily a right fielder throughout his career, Upton has since transitioned to left field for the Braves, Padres and Tigers.
Upton was born to Manny and Yvonne Upton. Yvonne worked as a teacher and Manny worked variously as a scout for the Kansas City Royals, a mortgage broker and a college basketball referee in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference after playing both college football and basketball at Norfolk State.
Upton hit his 300th career home run on July 29, 2020, in a game against the Seattle Mariners. He finished the pandemic-shortened season hitting .204/.289/.422 with nine home runs and 22 RBIs in 42 games.[citation needed] On August 27, 2021, against the San Diego Padres, Upton hit a sacrifice fly for his 1,000th career RBI. On September 5, Upton was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right lumbar strain. It was his second stint on the injured list this season, both times due to lower back issues.
Upton was designated for assignment by the Angels on April 2, 2022. In five years with Los Angeles, Upton had a .232 batting average, 75 home runs, and 203 RBIs. He cleared waivers and was released on April 8.
On May 21, 2022, Upton signed a major league contract with the Seattle Mariners. He was recalled and made his Mariner debut on June 17. On July 22, 2022, the Mariners optioned Upton to Triple-A, but he refused and elected free agency.
