Phillies Star Trea Turner Opted Against Doing 'Most Selfish Thing' To Make History

The Philadelphia Phillies star just missed out on making history.

Jun 27, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner (7) celebrates after a home run against the Atlanta Braves in the second inning at Truist Park | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies knew they needed to show up at the plate on Friday.

Coming off their embarrassing and historic sweep against the Houston Astros to start the week, Trea Turner did not mince words when he said they had to start putting the ball over the fence.

The superstar led by example early, just narrowly missing out on a long ball in the first at-bat of the game after a lengthy rain delay.

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It didn't take long for Turner to put one in the seats, blasting a solo shot 397 feet to left field during his second at-bat in the second frame.

With a double and home run under his belt, Turner's fourth-inning single put Major League history on the horizon, with the star shortstop just needing the elusive triple to record his fourth cycle to give himself sole possession of the MLB record.

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Turner was aware of what he needed, and after he grounded out in the sixth, he stepped in the batter's box facing a position player in the ninth trying to hit one down the line so he could use his speed and record the three-bagger.

Unfortunately for Turner in this situation, he hit his second home run of the game.

But he could have done something unusual, quirky and bizarre to make history, opting to miss home plate on purpose so he that would have been credited with the triple he needed to become the only MLB player ever to hit for four cycles.

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"After I touched home plate -- and this thought never crossed my mind before that, but you know, the thought of missing the plate -- I think that'd be a triple," he said, per Paul Casella of MLB.com.

That didn't happen, though, and history will have to wait for at least another day.

"It would have been probably the most selfish thing to do in the history of baseball," Turner said with a laugh, according to Casella. "But, you know, a lot of thoughts going through my head right there."

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