Not too long ago, an article was written on this site that posed the question of whether Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner was a waste of $300M in free-agent spending. It was a fair question at the time considering Turner's on-base percentage had plummeted below .300.
It's safe to say the writer of that article has been eating crow for the last few weeks. Turner has experienced a resurgence in the month of August. His latest heroics came Tuesday night with a two-run walk-off single that gave the Phillies a 4-3 win over the San Francisco Giants.
TREA VANCE TURNER. pic.twitter.com/pIdRjDfczA
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) August 23, 2023
On Aug. 4, when the Phillies returned home after a particularly egregious seven-game road trip for Turner, his batting average was down to .235 and his on-base percentage sat at .290. 25 years ago, Turner would have returned home to a crowd of less than 20,000 at Veterans Stadium eager to hurl profanities and projectiles at him.
But this is a new generation of Phillies fans. There were no boos to be heard, and no one came armed with batteries. Instead, a generous audience at Citizens Bank Park gave their struggling shortstop a standing ovation.
Philly's got ya, Trea pic.twitter.com/KRIO03u8sN
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) August 4, 2023
Turner responded that night with his first RBI in almost three weeks. The next night, he came through with his first home run in nearly a month.
HE ANSWERED THE CALL#RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/TquMSmVkV8
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) August 5, 2023
Baseball-Reference says that since his standing ovation, Turner is batting .353 with a .389 on-base percentage. His overall average is up to .251, and his OBP is currently .303. In addition to his walk-off hit on Tuesday, Turner hit two home runs in the eighth inning of the Phillies' 12-3 win last Saturday in Washington. He became just the third player in Phillies history with two homers in an inning, and the first since Von Hayes in 1985.
Phillies with 2 HR in an inning:
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) August 19, 2023
Today Trea Turner, 8th
6/11/85 Von Hayes, 1st
6/2/49 Andy Seminick, 8th https://t.co/xFz4T8bwsK
Even at his lowest point, Phillies fans had the feeling that Turner would eventually come back around. He's too talented a player to struggle for that long. With the playoff push nearing the home stretch, his rejuvenation couldn't come at a better time for the Phillies.
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