The Upton family

Superb article. Congratulations to the Upton family, you have done a wonderful job raising two young men, you should be especially proud of their off the field accomplishments. Seems as though both boys are very well grounded.

Say what you want but I have seen first hand the other side of Justin and Manny Upton at the AAU Nationals in Sarasota several years ago and it wasn't pretty. Also, I think if you nosed around in the Tidewater area, you may find a different perspective on the Uptons, no just my own.

I know Justin personally and and yes he might seem overly confident at times, he is a great kid who is very personable. I live in the Tidewater area and I have not heard much of what you talk about.

well i too know justin personally, i was on the showcase circuit with him,and i played with him in the Aflac All-American game, and hes a good guy, hes not all cocky or whatever, his ranking doesnt mean anything to him, he just goes out and plays everyday. I admit before i knew him, i had the same view that a LOT of players have of him,most just ASSUME hes cocky because hes predicted #1 pick or whatever, but that definately changed a LOT whenever i met him, hes a great guy, and he has a good head on his shoulders, on top of that, the kid can play. From a fellow players standpoint, hes a good guy, and i'd want him on my team, i dont see any drawbacks in him. Just my two cents, later.

Our son played on the Chicago Cubs team with Justin Upton at the East Coast Pro Showcase and the kids stayed overnight for the week on the college campus at UNC-Wilmington.

Son mentioned that Justin was a cool kid and enjoyed playing with him as a teammate.

I have known Manny for close to 20 years. I have thrown BP to Justin and BJ when they were in AAU. If you nose around Tidewater...you will find that they are great people.

blackheart, I have no idea what you are talking about BUT your insinuations are off base. I have worked alongside Manny in the office and on the field and he is a sincere, caring guy. His sons are the same. Yvonne is great as well. Nice people.

It is not an insinuation. I have seen some cheap **** on the ball field before but nothing like that night in Sarasota in 2001. Manny had the Va. DiamondBuilders team and coaches were totally classless by intentionally spiking one of my players, trying to high spike another and spitting in the face of my catcher on a play at the plate. Then he was too chicken%$#@ to back up the **** he started off the field. Justin was the player who spiked my RF. So don't give me that insinuation ****. I was there and I know. An AAU official apologized to us for letting the game get put of hand and not tossing Manny and the Diamondbuilders out of the tournament.

Great story of two amazing young men. I wish the word Virginia and credit to the high school and HS coaches might have been mentioned a bit more. Seems they were tossed aside.

CV

blackheart,

First of all, your first post was an insinuation. You were trying to imply that they were not good people. That is an insinuation.

Secondly, there are always 2 sides to every story. In baseball, someone typically gets spiked when something else has happened. I am sure none of your players did anything to deserve a spiking. Innocently, playing the game, you get spiked...never happens. Many of the times, moms and dads do not know what happens on the field. All they see is their baby gets spiked and then they want to hang the kid who did it. I am not saying that happened here, but it is a common occurrence.

Finally, your story is out. I hope you feel better. By the way, what should he have done to "back up the **** he started on the field"? Get in a fight?!?

Did hear a funny story from Mrs. Upton when BJ was in Cuba with Team USA, Cuban players kept asking him to smuggle them and help them defect. Like were they gonna stick them in their luggage

I also know Manny and have nothing but good things to say about him and his family. Good people.

Sounds like Blackheart and his team lost a tough game and he couldnt swallow it.

Let me say this I have met both boys and Dad and they were nothing but gentlemen--- at all times

I wish nothing but the best to both boys and the Upton family

Blackheart,

Sounds like you have some kind of bone to pick. It is virtually impossible to be in the position that the Upton’s and many other high profile athletes are in without having a foe here and there. There’s no problem with your thoughts, but why do you feel the need to express them publicly and so freely to everyone. What are you trying to accomplish with your bashing. Whether it be true or false?

I can understand why people talk about major league stars on this site. They live in the world of being scrutinized. I think high school players and parents should not be bashed. This is not a court room where both sides can give their full story.

If there were makeup issues regarding the Uptons, major league scouts would have found them by now. After all there couldn’t possibly be two brothers who have been followed any closer for such a long period of time.

I will go on record as saying I know Manny Upton even better than I know his sons. He is very well respected and well liked by every person in our organization. Yvonne Upton is one of the nicest (down to earth) ladies I’ve ever met. Both kids have always displayed nothing less than high class character in our eyes. It goes without saying, they are both exceptionally talented.

Manny is a top DI college basketball referee. I think he'd be used to dealing with tough situations. What should he back up off the field? That sounds like someone elses problem! Is that the proper way of doing things? Do you do things that way? Please, lets do leave the game on the field where it belongs! That’s my side of the story.

By the way, I’m curious, you mentioned:

quote:

Justin was the player who spiked my RF
And An AAU official apologized to us for letting the game get put of hand

How exactly did your Right Fielder get spiked?
Why not mention the AAU officials name, you’ve mentioned everyone else by name.

Cvsting,

I agree that the high school and coaches should have been part of the story.

In case you missed it, Patrick Ebert who wrote the Upton Family story also did a story in his column about Virginia baseball titled Sweet Virginia.

Here is the link
http://www.perfectgame.org/2005/crack_of_the_bat/02_03_05_sweet_virginia.cfm

PG

Thanks for bringing the "Crack of the Bat - Sweet Virginia" to my attention. It was indeed some due recogniton of the talent pool here in Virginia which by the way has been pretty consistant over the years.

CV

TRHIT,

I'm so glad you can read my mind. I could careless about winning or losing games to teams or people with class. I'm telling a truthful recount of an actual experience, you call it sour grapes. May be I should say that everytime you disagree with someones opinion that you have an alterative motive. I know what I saw and I know what I heard. All you others that have pleasant experiences with the Upton's, good for you. I have been around baseball, nationally, for several years now and have spoken with alot coaches during that time. I know of two that have had similar experiences like my own. Don't believe everything you read in the papers.

BLACKHEART

Since you want to continue:

01-- whatever motive you want to call it --I have none--other than to not see a kid/family bashed that shouldnt be bashed

02--I read nothing in the papers--perhaps you cannot read--I said in the times I have met them

It is people like you that turn people off --I agree with PG--if you had a problem why bring it to a public forum--do it privately

But you did !!!!!

As for reading your mind-- it is not that difficult---your type is universal--sour grapes personified

By the way, the way I was taught to play the game spiking as part of the game --- that is way we wore "sanitary hose"--and spiking was not "dirty play"--

I'm glad most of you enjoyed the story.

quote:

I wish the word Virginia and credit to the high school and HS coaches might have been mentioned a bit more. Seems they were tossed aside.

Cvsting, I did not intend to "toss aside" the coaches & schools that B.J. and Justin come from. In retrospect I agree that this information should have been included more, but just because they weren't doesn't mean their omission was intentional.

I'm glad Jerry pointed out the "Sweet Virginia" Crack of the Bat column to you. I have nothing personal against the fair state of Virginia .

TRhit, if you believe that intentionally injuring a player by spiking them is part of the game, then you really are truly the piece of ****.

I don’t have a dog in this fight but I am not smart enough to stay out of it either.

I believe Blackheart when says he witnessed something that probably could have been handled differently.

I also believe that if the person in question were judged in their totality and relative to their peers, they would fare quite favorably.

For example, a poster boasts that he used to purposely spike other players. He’s probably a decent enough guy in his totality, but there are probably a lot of players that only know him as a cheap shot, bush league player.

I will be the first among us to admit that I also would have handled situations differently if given another chance. If that were someone’s only opportunity to judge me, it may explain why I am not on their Christmas card list.

Blackheart, would that also apply to you? If you or I became high profile on this board, could someone bring up something we’d prefer to forget? Would others that know the real you or I, come to our defense like people are doing for Upton?

We could only hope we would be as fortunate.

SBK,

I'm not perfect by no means but I am accountable. We all do things we regret but what I saw was purposeful and intentional instigated by the father. The kid was only doing what his father told him but he did it. I spoke to two other coaches from two separate Va. teams in Fort Myers at a 2002 PG event about what happened and they told me of similiar incidents. We were not coaching there, our sons were in the event. I had met them in Sarasota at the AAU tournament and recognized them. Its no conspiracy. Just recounting a story. I'm glad these folks are repudiating the story maybe it was a somewhat isolated incident, great, whatever, life will go on.

Blackheart

Bottom line here and then I close the thread

There is not need to demean the players and family on an open forum--it just shows your lack of class --with the authority given me I close this thread--it has already gone to far

Blackheart ( great name everything considered) you know where to reach me if you have a problem with this

One more thing--it says it all by itself-- see the latest post by BLACKHEART in the showcase forum