I woke up August 2nd just expecting another normal summer day, but I did not yet know I was in for a very long night. I was scanning through the ESPN.com fantasy baseball site and I read that 19 year old Justin Upton was called up to play in that night’s game vs. the San Diego Padres. Now, I’m in a fantasy baseball keeper league where we get to keep one rookie keeper and Upton was certainly a prize to be had. So, naturally I went to pick him up. However, ESPN had not yet entered him into the database and I’d have to wait to add him. I figured he wouldn’t be added to the database until about 3 a.m. when the rosters were locked for the next day. I was sure that the rest of the members in my league also had their eye on him. After all, he was just 19 and already being compared to Ken Griffey Jr. Baseball America ranked him as the #9 prospect at the beginning of 2007. He was ranked ahead of guys such as Tim Lincecum, Ryan Braun, and teammate Chris B. Young.
He projects as an outfielder with 40 homer potential and with also enough speed to steal about 20 bases. In other words, in his prime, he would be a top 5 pick in fantasy. I had already missed out on Lincecum, Braun, Cole Hamels in 2006, and Felix Hernandez in 2005. I would stop at nothing to get Justin Upton on my team.
So I set up camp in my family room. First I gathered my movies….The Number 23 and of course, Anchorman. Next, I gathered my food. I had some leftover chicken teriyaki and rice which I promptly heated up along with some Tostitos chips and nacho cheese dip. I stacked up on a bunch of Pepsis and granola bars as well. I opened two sites while I watched The Number 23; the players section of my fantasy league with Upton typed in the search box and an ESPN message board thread solely on the subject of when Justin Upton would be available to pick up. 3 a.m. was approaching and was what many believed to be the time he’d become available. As the deadline came nearer, I frantically hit the refresh button waiting to see Justin’s name appear below his brother B.J.’s in the player pool. At about 3:05, I realized he wasn’t going to be available for awhile, so I checked back to the thread.
Everyone had their theory on when he would be able to be picked up, and the next suggested time was about 4 a.m. when the days’ stats are recorded. The Number 23 was over and I really liked the ending, but I thought the movie had too many dull points. So I switched Anchorman and 23 and was ready for a few good laughs while trying to get Justin Upton. At 4 a.m., I picked up my refreshing rate and was victim to disappointment after disappointment. Back at the thread, some people were suggesting that he could not become available until 24 hours after he was called up. No one knew the exact time, but it was expected to be somewhere between 12 and 3 pm. At this point, Anchorman was over and I was getting very sleepy. I tried my best to stay awake watching reruns of Sportscenter, but I couldn’t do it. I fell asleep at about 5:45 and my alarm was set for 7:00. My alarm went off and I grabbed my laptop and clicked refresh one more time. There he was, Justin Upton, the player I’ve been waiting for all night. Wait a second….HE WAS ALREADY PICKED UP! My whole night was wasted. I made a post that just said fuck you! in all caps and I slammed my laptop and went to bed.
