Philadelphia Phillies Need Trea Turner To Play At MVP Level to Win World Series
No player on the Philadelphia Phillies had more of a roller-coaster season than Trea Turner.
It was a bizarre ride indeed.
The Phillies' marquee $300 million free agent signing took quite a while to get comfortable in his new surroundings.
Turner hit rock bottom on Aug. 2 against the Miami Marlins with an 0-for-5 performance and a botched attempt at fielding a grounder in the 11th inning.
He seemed out of sync.
Almost lost.
Two nights later, Turner returned to Philadelphia to face the Kansas City Royals and received several rounds of standing ovations from the passionate fans at Citizens Bank Park.
The support helped immensely as Turner had a batting average of .337 with 16 home runs and 42 RBI the rest of the regular season. The momentum carried over into the playoffs with the exception of Games 6 and 7 against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League Championship Series.
Turner was sensational in the World Baseball Classic, but it never carried over into his tenure with the Phillies.
That happens.
It’s not always easy to come to a new team and play at an MVP level right away.
Sounds like it should be easier. But that’s not the case.
Turner’s prolonged slump was starting to become concerning. He was off at the plate and subpar for him at shortstop.
Nothing was clicking.
Now to be fair, Turner never stopped working. He was in the cage with hitting coach Kevin Long for countless hours. He was on the field taking grounders and trying to get comfortable.
Did the standing ovations push Turner out of his slump?
Hard to say.
This is year two for Turner with Philadelphia. They expect him to perform. Turner expects to produce.
For the Phillies to win a World Series, they’ll need Turner to play like an MVP candidate.
He proved the ability to do just that.
It’s time for a repeat performance.
