Turner Makes Admission After Joining the Philadelphia Phillies
Since joining the Philadelphia Phillies with an 11-year, $300 million contract, shortstop Trea Turner has been reveling in his new surroundings.
He has loved every minute thus far.
“I feel like I’ve gotten more crap talked to me these last few days than I have in a long time, and that’s probably a good thing,” Turner told reporters at spring training in Clearwater, Fla. “I like it. You can take it and dish it. So it’s a good start for me. It’s a good sign. I think that’s what makes it fun.”
The Phillies now have a legitimate leadoff hitter in Turner, arguably the best in all of Major League Baseball.
Last season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Turner hit .298 with 21 home runs and 100 RBI.
Phillies manager Rob Thomson has yet to officially announce Turner as his leadoff hitter, but that certainly seems to make the most sense.
Simply adding a player like Turner to the Phillies lineup automatically improves them in a litany of ways.
Phillies guest instructor and former standout shortstop Larry Bowa gushed about Turner’s addition.
“He can disrupt everything,” Bowa told MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki. “If he’s on first in the seventh inning, you’ve got infielders moving in and moving closer to the bag. Now what’s that do? The shift is gone now. That opens up holes. That opens up a ton of holes. It opens up the whole field. It makes guys think, ‘I’ve got to get rid of this ball because Trea Turner is coming down here.’ Before the series even starts, teams will say, ‘This guy runs the bases unbelievably well. He’s quick. He’s going to take the extra base.’ The seed is planted before you even start a three-game series. Teams go into a series and they’ll say, ‘Whatever happens, I don’t want Nolan Arenado beating us.’ There’s always a guy. This guy can bring that attention to a clubhouse.
“And he wants to play. All those guys wanted to play: Bobby (Abreu), Chase (Utley), Bull (Greg Luzinski). When you’re making a lineup as a manager, you put their name in there every day. And it means a lot to the ballclub. Trea can beat you so many ways. He can hit a bomb. He can get a single, steal second, steal third. He can get a base hit with two men on. There are so many tools that he has to beat you.”
For now, Turner is showing up and working hard. His teammates have noticed.
It’s a perfect fit.
“I’m just a big learn-your-job guy,” Turner told reporters. “I want to know what my job is. What do you expect of me? I think sometimes that’s hard moving around in the lineup. So, wherever I do hit, I’d like to stick there and just kind of learn who’s in front of me, who’s behind me and (learn) how pitchers are going to pitch the guy in front of me, the guy behind me. I think that helps everybody, not just me.”
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