Chicago Cubs' Aging Slugger Joins Extremely Rare Club in Baseball History with Big Blast

The Chicago Cubs beat the Baltimore Orioles 5-3 on Sunday afternoon at Wrigley Field thanks to a walk-off two-run home run from veteran slugger Justin Turner.

Appearing as a pinch-hitter for Michael Busch, Turner took Keegan Aiken deep in the bottom of the ninth inning. It was just the third home run of the season for Turner, who is now in the 17th year of his career with the Orioles, Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, Seattle Mariners and Cubs.

I’m shaking right now! pic.twitter.com/x31jNLnwkO
— Wrigley Field (@ofcwrigleyfield) August 3, 2025

And according to Sarah Langs of MLB.com, Turner also joined a rare group in baseball history with the blast. She says that at 40 years and 253 days old, Turner is the 2nd-oldest player at the time of his first career regular season walk-off home run. He is younger than only Murray Dickson, who was 41 years and 278 days old in 1958.

At 40 years & 253 days, Justin Turner is the 2nd-oldest player at the time of his first career regular-season walk-off home run, younger than only:

5/26/58 Murray Dickson: 41y, 278d

Only other at 40+:

9/17/89 Rick Dempsey 40y, 4d

h/t @EliasSports https://t.co/DLd6L00OYG
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) August 3, 2025

Dickson was an 18-year veteran of the St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates and Kansas City Athletics. A pitcher, he won three World Series titles and made an All-Star Game. He was 172-181 for his career. As a hitter, he had a .231 batting average with three career home runs.

Turner is a two-time All-Star who helped lead the Dodgers to the 2020 World Series title.

Signed as a free agent this past offseason, Turner is hitting just .217 this season. He's a career .284 hitter with 201 home runs. He had a career-high 27 home runs in 2016, 2019 and 2021.

Related MLB Stories