Philadelphia Phillies’ Trea Turner Has Become The Face Of Team USA Baseball

Author Connor Thomas

March 20th, 2023 8:08 AM

On Friday night, in the Quarterfinals of the World Baseball Classic, Trea Turner set the country on fire by helping complete a Team USA Comeback against Venezuela with a dramatic Grand Slam in the 8th inning of that contest. It was an unbelievable moment, one that Turner called the #1 homer of his career, which should tell you just how much this tournament means to these guys competing in it. The job was far from finished for Team USA though, and Sunday night saw a Semifinal matchup between the USA and Cuba for a chance to take one step closer to a Stars and Stripes repeat championship. If you thought Trea Turner would rest on his laurels after his game-winning grand slam on Friday night, well, you would have been completely mistaken.

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Now, the Cuban National team is not nearly as talented as the Venezuela team that Turner and the USA knocked off on Friday, so there was no need for dramatics in this matchup. That being said, though, you still have to score runs to win any baseball game. With Team USA up 2-1 in the bottom of the 2nd inning, the Phillies’ new shortstop stepped to the dish in his first at bat since his grand slam on Friday night. He quickly deposited the 2nd pitch he saw deep into the left field seats, making it 3-1 good guys. Two big at bats, two absolutely crushed home runs by Turner, who tied himself for the tournament lead in homers with that shot in the 2nd inning. Move over Mike Trout, a new Captain America seemed to be surfacing.

It became clear shortly after that home run that Cuba was simply outmatched against the juggernaut USA All-Star Team, as the states continued to pour it on in the mid-innings at the dish. There was no letup from Trea Turner despite the deficit; when he stepped to the plate in the 6th inning, he launched another near-400-foot bomb to left center, a 3 run shot that made it 12-2 USA. In the two elimination games so far for the USA, Turner has gone an otherworldly 4-8 at the plate with 3 homers, 8 RBIs, and 3 runs scored himself. He leads the tournament in homeruns, he’s tied for the lead in RBIs, and he’s a Philadelphia Phillie for the next decade plus, which is my personal favorite fact about him. Now, with only one game standing in between him and the glory of bringing home a championship for the entire United States, Trea Turner has already cemented himself as an American baseball legend. The good news, Phillies fans? He’s just getting started.

Connor Thomas is a lifelong Philadelphia sports fan who grew up in Hainesport, NJ. After playing collegiate and semi-professional baseball, his love for sports drew him to a career of hosting on 97.5 The Fanatic! As a diehard fan who's never afraid to let his passion and opinion be heard, Connor combines the voice of a new generation of Philly sports fans with the classic hard-nosed nature of the best sports city on the planet. As a content creator for 97.5 The Fanatic he writes about Eagles, Sixers, Phillies and Flyers.

8 Baseball Movies That Flew Under Your Radar

Movies are cool. They can be a much needed distraction from the pain sports can bring. Like when Jose Alvarado gives up a homerun that still hasn’t landed yet, a movie can be a nice change of pace. Baseball season is right around the corner and there are plenty of movies to get you in the mood for 162! The classic baseball movies are known, and can probably be recited chapter and verse by big seam heads. Field of Dreams, The Sandlot, The Natural, Bull Durham, and so on and so on. They are all great in their own right and doing a top list of those movies is a waste of our time.

So lets take a look at some deep cuts. Some baseball movies that may have avoided your radar. These are just based on my opinion, so take that for what its worth. Some of these you may have heard of. A few of them you may have even seen. But hopefully this list will give you some suggestions on films you may have missed.

So while you wait for Trea Turner’s first official at-bat as a Phillie, and as you wait for the first Kyle Schwarber home run of the season, here are 8 movies to get you through the waiting game of meaningful baseball.

Sugar (2009)
Sugar is a really great movie and a solid look at the struggle that latin players have to go through to make it to the big leagues. It follows a player from signing with a team, being placed in the middle of nowhere, having instant success and then struggling with adapting to the culture and the game.

AVAILABLE ON AMAZON PRIME FOR FREE
The Battered Bastards of Baseball (2014)
This is an INCREDIBLE documentary and a real underdog story. It focuses on a minor league baseball team with no affiliation to a professional club who was a rag tag group. From the ownership, to the try outs, to the actual games, you’ll be entertained throughout.

AVAILABLE ON NETFLIX
Bang The Drum Slowly (1974)
For the older crowd this is certainly NOT a deep cut, but for the younger baseball fans out there then it probably isnt on your radar. Robert DeNiro plays a quirky backup catcher who is paired with the new phenom pitcher. The two cant be more different. But the two grow a connection, especially when the pitcher finds out a secret that the catcher is keeping from the team.

YOUD HAVE TO RENT THIS ONE
61* (2001)
Another movie that if your are a bit older you probably have seen but this is a deeper cut for the younger fan out there. 61* follows the home run race between teammates Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle. The stress that Maris faced trying to break Babe Ruth’s record. A must watch.

AVAILABLE ON HBO
A Player To Be Named Later (2005)
A Player To Be Named Later is a documentary follows 4 players at different stages of their baseball careers as they try to make it to the show. A player back from Japan, a 1st round pick, a player on the cusp. All of it. The grind these players face and a look at how tough it truly is.

YOU HAVE TO RENT THIS ONE
Catching Hell (2011)
This documentary follows the fall out of the Steve Bartman issue. An issue that, at the time, many Cubs fans claimed cost the team its first World Series since 1908. It looks into how a fan can impact a game, and how desperate some fans are to have a scapegoat.

AVAILABLE ON ESPN+
42 (2012)
Deep cut? Maybe not. But I know so many baseball fans that ignored the 2012 biopic on Jackie Robinson’s first year in the majors. Based on the book “Opening Day” this movie is incredibly detailed down to aspects that they didnt even need to include, but did. Harrison Ford is incredible in the role as Branch Rickey, and Chadwick Boseman was amazing in the lead as Jackie Robinson. A MUST watch.

AVAILABLE ON CINEMAX
Summer Catch (2001)
Its so bad that its good. The thing I like about this movie is it follows something that no baseball movie ever has, the Cape Cod League. The top summer league for college baseball players. Freddie Prinze Jr. isnt exactly convincing in his role as a local pitcher who found his way onto the Chatham A’s. But there is some humor in the movie, its corny at times. As I said, its so bad that its good. AND the Phillies are mentioned, so thats cool.

YOU HAVE TO RENT THIS ONE