A historic home owned by one of the last ball players to play in the Tampa Bay Devil Rays era recently sold in Hyde Park.
Located at 727 S Edison Ave., the home belonged to former Tampa Bay Rays center fielder B.J. Upton, who was drafted second overall by the team in 2002 and stayed with the franchise until 2012.
Property records show that Upton purchased the home in 2021 for $2.45 million. Last June, Upton listed the home for $4.5 million.
According to property records, the home sold on Aug. 15, for $4.45 million.
The son of a mortgage broker, "Bossman Junior" had a lengthy career in the Major Leagues until he retired in 2016 after stints with the Atlanta Braves and Toronto Blue Jays. While on the Rays roster, Upton arguably had his best season in 2008, where during the playoff run he hit .288/.333/.652 with seven home runs over 72 plate appearances.
Upton's Hyde Park home was built in 1908 for Christopher Dudley Thames, who was a steamship captain who came to Tampa from Jacksonville in 1902 and lived in the home until his death in 1934.
As you can see in the photos, the 5,274-square-foot home has changed dramatically since its days of housing sea captains. According to the listing, the residence been completely remodeled, and now comes with a total of five bedrooms and eight bathrooms, as well as a guest house, a library, a media room, a sauna, a 72-inch concrete soaking tub, a pool, and more.
The listing agents were Ally Russell and Kamilla Altunyan of Keller Williams Tampa Central.
