via Talkin' Baseball on Twitter
Team Japan won the 2023 World Baseball Classic, mostly on the back of Tournament MVP, Shohei Ohtani. But, my goodness, it’ll be hard to forget the heater Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner went on during Team USA’s run to the finals.
Turner appeared in six games during the WBC. In the 23 at-bats he accumulated, the right-handed hitter slashed .391/.440/1.043 with five (!) homers, 11 RBI, and six runs scored. Those dingers were the only extra-base hits he collected, too. Turner racked up a total of nine hits. So, more than half of his knocks left the ballpark.
Only one other player hit more than two homers during the WBC. That was Team Korea’s Ha-Seong Kim, who slugged three. Turner’s five dingers have also launched him to the top of the single-tournament leaderboard. He’s now tied with Korea’s Seung Yuop Lee, who also hit five in the 2006 WBC (the inaugural event).
You know what we like to do here, folks. Below you’ll find all five of Turner’s World Baseball Classic bombs, in sequential order.
Team USA entered this game fresh off taking a beating from Team Mexico. Manager Mark DeRosa‘s club exploded for nine runs in the first inning, and they coasted from there. The game was well in hand for the Americans by the second, but Turner had to join in on the fun with his first dinger of the tournament.
If we only knew what else was coming.
In USA’s quarterfinal matchup, they were six outs away from getting eliminated by Team Venezuela. Until Turner unloaded an absurdly clutch grand slam to give America the lead, and ultimately, the win. The dugout loved it, the fans at the ballpark loved it, and everyone loved it on social media.
loanDepot Park hasn’t had an opportunity to rock like that in a long time. If ever.
How do you follow up on one of the most clutch home runs in Team USA’s WBC history? You hit another no-doubter in your very next at-bat the following night. You’ve gotta love the bat drop on his way out of the box, too.
If his night ended there, that’d be enough. But it was just beginning.
Why hit just one home run in a game when you can hit two? When you’re hot…you’re hot.
It was mentioned during USA’s semifinal matchup, but it’s awesome to watch these homers in succession because of how similar his swings looked. Smooth and balanced. You could tell he wasn’t trying to hit a home run. Turner just got pitches in his happy zone, he put a good swung on it and barreled the hell outta these babies.
Before the WBC Final vs. Japan, Turner had done all of this damage out of the ninth spot in DeRosa’s lineup. With the championship on the line, he moved his shortstop up three spots to the six-hole. That decision immediately paid dividends as Turner gave his squad an early lead with his final home run of the tournament.
It ultimately wasn’t enough to help Team USA win its second straight WBC title. Turner has certainly made a name for himself, though. And it’s not like he already hadn’t done that!
He’s consistently been one of the game’s best shortstops, won a World Series with the Nationals in 2019, and just signed a $300 million contract this past winter with the Phillies. Trea Turner is a household name among baseball fans. For the more casual ones tuning into the World Baseball Classic, though, he showed them a little bit of what he’s capable of doing on a baseball diamond.
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