Trea Turner Earned His Standing Ovation This Time Around
Trea Turner has had one whirlwind of a first season in Philadelphia. After signing an 11 year, $300mil contract this offseason to join the Phillies and becoming one of the great stories of the World Baseball Classic prior to the season beginning, the All-MLB Shortstop has struggled mightily. The “slump proof” Turner (thanks, Jon Hamm) started off this year in the biggest slump of his professional career, and it carried well into the 2nd half of the season. The defense, hitting, baserunning… all of it underwhelming for a man with the skill and paycheck of Turner. And yet, the Phillies’ fan base chose to give him a standing ovation as a show of support and motivation. How much it worked, we’ll never know, but clearly it has done something positive for Turner mentally.
Since the ovation, he has returned to his top form, hitting over .350 with 4 home runs and 6 doubles, helping the Phillies offense to some big performances. It’s awesome to see for a player who is hugely important to the Phils reaching their ceiling this year. This isn’t about that ovation though. Now has come the time for Trea Turner to earn his applause, and last night, he got a golden opportunity. In a series against the San Francisco Giants with huge NL Wild Card implications, in which the Phillies had already taken game 1 on Monday night, an important game hung in the balance as the 9th inning rolled around at Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday. There was a chance that Turner could be the man who got the at bat that changed the Phillies’ fortune.
With the Giants leading 3-2, Bryson Stott was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, and Brandon Marsh hit a 1 out single that moved Stott up to 3rd. With Kyle Schwarber at the plate, Marsh swiped 2nd base to take the double play out of the equation, and Giants Manager Gabe Kapler responded by choosing to walk Schwarber intentionally to get to Turner with the bases loaded. With Camilo Doval, San Fran’s All-Star closer, on the mound, even a bases loaded opportunity was not a sure thing. Thank goodness, though, that Doval is not a great pitcher due to his defense. With a 2-2 count on him, Turner smoked a line drive up the middle that tipped off of Doval’s glove and trickled into center, allowing Stott and Marsh to fly home for the tying and winning runs. It was a madhouse scene at the bank, and it was hard not to think about the standing ovation from just a few weeks ago.
Now, the funny thing about the play is that it could have easily gone disastrously for the Phillies. With the baserunners breaking to try and score a tying or winning run, if Doval makes that catch, he probably has a double play somewhere on the bases. That would’ve ended the game, and handed the Phils a loss in brutal fashion. You won’t find this on any stat sheet, but a couple of weeks ago, it feels like it would’ve been just Turner’s luck for that to be the result. Instead, something about his aura has changed. He is no longer the head down, underperforming, bane of this fan base. The $300 million man still has a ways to go before he justifies his more than decade long contract, but it doesn’t look like he’ll be needing any more handouts as he does. When the packed house in South Philly rose to their feet for Turner Tuesday night, it wasn’t because he needed it; it was because he EARNED it.