Turner coronation comes at WBC
MIAMI — Trea Turner arrived for his coronation Sunday night in a Team USA shirt with the sleeves ripped off, still wearing his game socks slid into Team USA flip-flops, carrying a can of Presidente beer.
He knew exactly where to go, having been required to sit for a news conference Saturday night, too. That night, he hit a go-ahead grand slam that left him jumping for joy as he headed for first, a rare burst of emotion from a player so stoic he rarely watches even the most obvious home run balls for more than a few milliseconds before dropping his head to run them out.
Sunday, he hit two more homers and drove in four more runs in the United States’ 14-2 drubbing of Cuba in a World Baseball Classic semifinal. This time, he wasn’t the savior. After all, the Americans didn’t need to be saved against Cuba on Sunday. This time, he was something else. This time, he was the brightest star on a team full of superstars. This time, he was the center of attention, the man everyone wanted to hear from — the hero, the guy.
“Early in this [tournament], me, J.T. [Realmuto] and [Kyle] Schwarber were talking about spring training numbers, and I haven’t hit a homer in spring training in like four or five years or something like that,” Turner said in response to the first of several questions about his recent tear. “So it’s kind of funny how it works out, but I don’t ask questions.”
Later in the news conference, Turner said he didn’t usually hit well at loanDepot Park, either. He was mostly right about both things: He has, in fact, hit six spring training home runs in his career. During the WBC, he has a .260 career average and .759 OPS — both well below his career averages.
What Turner did not know about himself when he walked into that room, however, was that he had just become the first player in WBC history to drive in at least four runs in back-to-back games. He admitted he didn’t know he had just become the only American player to homer twice in a WBC game besides his Team USA hitting coach, Ken Griffey Jr.
“I can’t wait to tell him,” Turner said, when informed of that statistic in the news conference. He smiled and looked down sheepishly as he answered question after question about how he, the Americans’ No. 9 hitter, had hit three homers in two key games to help Team USA reach the final.
“I don’t know any of these things,” he said. “I’m just trying to win with these guys. I think that’s why we are here. We don’t care who does what. We want to win.”
The funny thing about Turner, difficult as it is to quantify, is that he has never exactly felt like a superstar. He played like one, sure, especially in the last few seasons. He will be paid like one, too, because only a handful of players in baseball history can say they’ve signed contracts worth $300 million.
But for any number of reasons, including his own unwillingness to call attention to himself, Turner never quite earned the same instant reverence as Bryce Harper or Juan Soto, never inspired the same awe as Manny Machado or Mookie Betts. He was never the most hyped star on the Washington Nationals or Los Angeles Dodgers. He won’t be the only MVP candidate on the Philadelphia Phillies, either. When Team USA Manager Mark DeRosa wrote out his lineups for this weekend, he wrote Turner’s name ninth.
“What a fun team where Trea Turner bats ninth,” Team USA starter Adam Wainwright said. “I tell you what.”