Safe to say, Justin Upton is a homebody.
When he hit his 10th home run at Turner Field Sunday night, it was more home runs than any other player in the majors had hit in his home ballpark. That’s one more than the nine Giancarlo Stanton had hit at Marlins Park (where the Marlins are a majors’ leading 20-8) and two more than the eight Troy Tulowitzki had hit at Coors Field and Todd Frazier at another hitter-friendly ballpark, Great American Ballpark.
“I’m seeing the ball really good at Turner Field right now,” Upton said, matter-of-factly. Same goes for what his numbers say.
Entering Monday, Upton was hitting .376 in 27 games at Turner Field, with 10 home runs and 23 RBIs. On the road, he’s hit .195 in 20 games with three home runs and seven RBIs.
“The times I’ve stunk have been on the road,” Upton said. “The times I’ve hit the ball well I’ve been here. I think it’s coincidence.”
Maybe so, but it’s been a trend throughout Upton’s career, wherever that “home ballpark” has been. He was the same way in Arizona.
Over his six seasons in Arizona, Upton hit .307 at Chase Field, with 76 doubles, 18 triples, 67 homers and 219 RBIs in 363 games. Over that same period, he hit .250 on the road, with 71 doubles, 10 triples, 41 homers and 144 RBIs in 367 games.
Since he arrived in Atlanta via trade before last season, he’s hit .292 with 23 home runs and 57 RBIS in 100 games at home. On the road, he’s hit .249 with 17 home runs and 43 RBIs in 96 games.
“We tricked him this May telling him it was April,” said Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez, referring to another of Upton’s lopsided splits. “Maybe we’ll go on the road and just wear white uniforms and trick him that way, too. But you know what, he is a special talent and he can do those kind of numbers anywhere, really.”
