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Upton Would Rather Have Wins Than Records

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By TONY FABRIZIO | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 26, 2008

PHILADELPHIA - He took the game upon himself in the top of the eighth inning, and in the process, put his name in the World Series record book with those of Honus Wagner, Willie Davis and Lou Brock.

But after a 5-4 loss in the wee hours Sunday morning, Rays center fielder B.J. Upton was less occupied with becoming only the fourth player to steal three bases in a World Series game than he was with the Rays' 2-1 series deficit to the Philadelphia Phillies.

"It's kind of cool," he said in a flat tone after a game that started about 90 minutes late because of rain. "But I'd rather have a win than that."

That the Rays didn't win wasn't because Upton left anything behind. The offensive star of the Rays' ALCS victory over Boston contributed offensively and defensively in this one.

He had two singles, the second of which came on a lead-off ground ball deep into the hole that gave Jimmy Rollins no real chance. The Rays trailed 4-3, and when Carlos Pena struck out, the situation looked dire.

After all, the Phillies had perfect-for-2008 closer Brad Lidge ready for the ninth inning. The eighth inning represented their best chance.

With Evan Longoria batting, Upton stole second. With Longoria still batting, he stole third and forced an errant throw from catcher Carlos Ruiz that allowed him to come all the way around and score.

"He does that a lot, man," Rays relief pitcher J.P. Howell said of Upton forcing the issue. "He's a spark. He makes things happen. He can give you momentum just by watching him.

"He did that all by himself there in the eighth, and we fell short, but we're going to need that tomorrow and in days to come."

Although the Rays tied the game, they lost in the bottom of the ninth on a bases-loaded infield single by Ruiz.

Upton's three stolen bases in a World Series game tied him with Wagner (Pittsburgh, Oct. 11, 1909), Davis (Los Angeles Dodgers, Oct. 11, 1965) and Brock (St. Louis, Oct. 12, 1967).

His two stolen bases in the eighth inning marked the first time since 1997 (Cleveland's Omar Vizquel) that a player stole two bases in one inning in a World Series game.

"When there's less than two outs, if I can get a base closer, that puts me in a position to score," Upton said. "That's all I was thinking. It was time to make something happen."

In center field, Upton made a dazzling over-the-shoulder catch on a deep fly ball from Chase Utley in the third inning. If Upton doesn't make the catch, Jayson Werth probably scores from first, and the Utley moves into scoring position with home run champ Ryan Howard coming up.

Instead, Werth doesn't score, and Matt Garza gets Howard to ground out to end the inning.

"It was hit pretty well, but I had a bead on it," Upton said. "I think the wind kind of helped me out a little, maybe knocked it down a little."

Gabe Gross, who was playing right field, said Upton was giving the wind too much credit.

"When that ball was hit, my first thought was that he was going to catch it," he said. "I imagine most people's thought was it was going to be a double. But I've played next to him and seen him run balls down like that so many times, it's just kind of second nature.

"He is in my mind, without a doubt, one of the top center fielders in the game. He just goes and gets balls, and I don't know that anybody has a better arm than he does."

Fernando Perez, another Rays outfielder with speed, concurred.

"I'm glad that everybody worldwide is getting a chance to see what he can do," Perez said. "He's really pushed the envelope today with the base running. He's really fun to watch, too."

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