Tag: Trea Turner

This angle of Trea Turner’s grand slam for Team USA proves the World Baseball Classic shouldn’t go anywhere

Relive Trea Turner’s epic slam from every angle

The next time anyone tries to argue the World Baseball Classic is a meaningless tournament that’s not worth the hassle, make sure you remind them of a certain Saturday night during March 2023.

Remind them Team USA was trailing Venezuela, 7-5, in the eighth inning of a quarterfinal elimination game in Miami when Trea Turner stepped to the plate with the bases loaded in a rocking loanDepot Park. Remind them he took two strikes and then uncorked a go-ahead grand slam that’s still soaring somewhere over the Atlantic ocean right now.

And if they don’t remember, show them these videos of Turner making WBC history.

I was going to try to refrain from hyperbole but it’s really not possible. Let’s just call this what it is: arguably the coolest moment by a baseball player in a Team USA jersey ever.

And if you don’t think it means anything to the players in this tournament, just take a look at this side angle video of Turner watching the ball fly off his bat and out of the park. It’ll give you goosebumps.

It’s impossible to see that clip and think these guys would be better off toiling on the backfields in spring training right now. It’s impossible to see that and not feel like you’re watching mid-October baseball rather than mid-March.

And if you need any more convincing just take a look at how the players in the dugout feel:

When Turner returned to the dugout, he found himself wrapped up in a massive bear hug from none other than Ken Griffey Jr. — the Team USA hitting coach who had the club in awe when they finally convinced The Kid to take some batting practice before the game.

The Americans went on to win 8-7. They advanced to the semifinals where they’ll face Cuba in Miami on Sunday, March 19. It’ll be another epic atmosphere.

And while it’s an absolute shame players have gotten injured during the tournament — the latest being a thumb injury for Jose Altuve that’ll require surgery — random injuries occur during spring training all the time when players aren’t in high-stakes games.

Take it from the guys in the dugout: The WBC matters. They want to be here. And by all accounts, it’s successfully growing the game.

If you can’t remember that, just remember how Trea Turner’s grand slam made you feel.

The Dodgers falling short of a World Series title would be one of the biggest letdowns in sports

After a historical season, anything less than a title would be a major disappointment.

It seems so long ago. In reality it was just a few months, April to be exact. I placed a bet on the Los Angeles Dodgers to win the 2022 World Series.

The bet wasn’t anything big, just a little action to stay invested in the baseball season. Then I proceeded to pay attention to every sport but baseball.

It was an informed bet, though. The Dodgers were just two years removed from a title and had the second-largest payroll in baseball (when has that ever mattered). I knew a lot of the names at just about every position: Mookie Betts, Cody Bellinger, Trea Turner, Clayton Kershaw. And they even added Freddie Freeman, who helped beat them in last year’s NLCS.

Then, I got lost in the NBA playoffs, and NHL playoffs, a whole WNBA season, the NFL came back, and next thing you know my little bet was forgotten about… That is until now, 162 games later. The exciting MLB playoffs are finally upon us. And whaddya know, the Dodgers finished the year with the best record in baseball. They remain the favorites to be the last team standing with +300 odds at BetMGM. Now it’s time to finish the job.

LA has consistently been one of the best teams in the majors since 2013, winning the NL West nine out of 10 years, reaching the pennant in six years and winning it three times. This year marks the fourth time in that span the Dodgers have won more than 100 games, and they also had the best record in baseball in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. Yet, all they have to show for all of that regular-season success is a single World Series championship.

Falling short this year wouldn’t just be a major letdown to my little, petty bet, it’ll be a major letdown to everyone involved. The Dodgers dominated this season and have by far the largest scoring margin in the majors (+334) to show for it. Their 111 wins are a franchise record and second-most in National League history behind the 1906 Cubs. That’s not a typo, they have the most wins in the NL since 1906!

Their pitching staff leads the majors in ERA and ranks fifth in strikeouts. Their offense leads the majors in runs batted in and ranks top five in batting average and home runs. They’re even second in FanGraphs’ defensive runs saved metric and ninth in stolen bases. This team literally doesn’t have a weakness. Which brings us back to the postseason.

The Dodgers’ NLDS opponent will be determined after the Wild Card round, which begins Friday. It might be the Mets (+700), it might be the Padres (+2800). No matter who it is, the Dodgers will be favored. And it won’t be enough for them to simply advance one round. They need to win a World Series this year, or all of those stats we just went over mean literally nothing. They only make this season — and my pockets — all the more disappointing.

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Trea Turner tuvo que fildear una pelota justo a la mitad de su entrevista durante el juego.

De cierto modo, es sorprendente que la MLBPA aceptara poner micrófonos y hacer entrevistas durante el juego en la temporada regular. Los jugadores – especialmente los infielders – tienen que estar concentrados en alineaciones defensivas y estar …

De cierto modo, es sorprendente que la MLBPA aceptara poner micrófonos y hacer entrevistas durante el juego en la temporada regular. Los jugadores — especialmente los infielders — tienen que estar concentrados en alineaciones defensivas y estar listos para fildear una pelota, lo cual puede ser complicado cuando se está teniendo una conversación.

Pero es buenísimo para la televisión, así que celebramos que los jugadores de la MLB tienen que aprender a hacer varias cosas a la vez. Esta parte de la transmisión nos ha dado grandes momentos como el que vimos con Trea Turner el domingo contra los Marlins.

Turner traía micrófono para la transmisión de Peacock, y a media conversación, un batazo por el suelo de Garrett Cooper salió directo hacia el short stop de los Dodgers. Pudimos escuchar a Turner vocalizar su esfuerzo con la pelota antes de recuperarla para hacer la jugada. Honestamente las transmisiones de baseball necesitan más de esto.

Traducción.- Trea Turner haciendo análisis en vivo de el mismo mientras fildea una pelota. 

El “ah, sí, — oh no” de Turner puede haber sido la mejor secuencia de estas entrevistas. Si hubiera fallado la jugada, Turner bromeó que le hubiera echado la culpa a la transmisión. Pero en vez de eso, describió que pasó durante la jugada y por qué no pudo fildearla limpiamente al principio.

Trea Turner had to field a hard ground ball right in the middle of his in-game interview

More of this, MLB!

In a sense, it’s quite surprising that the MLBPA agreed to mic’d-up, in-game interviews for the regular season. Players — particularly middle infielders — constantly have to focus on defensive alignments and be prepared to field a ball, which can be tough to do while having a conversation.

But it DOES make for excellent television, so we’re glad that MLB players have learned to multi-task this season. The broadcast feature has provided some great moments like what we saw with Trea Turner on Sunday against the Marlins.

Turner was mic’d up for Peacock’s broadcast, and mid-conversation, a hard grounder from Garrett Cooper went straight towards the Dodgers shortstop. We got to hear Turner vocalize his struggles with the grounder before recovering to make the play. Baseball broadcasts honestly need more of this.

The “hey, yeah — oh, no” from Turner might have been the best sequence to come from these interviews. Had he booted that play, Turner joked that he was ready to blame the broadcast for it. But instead, he walked everyone through what happened on the play and why he wasn’t able to field it cleanly at first.

MLB fans loved the in-the-moment analysis from Turner.

Trea Turner delivered another all-time smooth slide, this time while making a great catch

Another Trea Turner smooth slide!

Trea Turner is the king of the smooth slide.

His slides into home — starting with this slide in 2021 that became a meme, followed up by one later that year, and then we got one in May and another in June! — are legendary, slick-looking Slip-N-Slide-like efforts that, well, look effortless.

But we haven’t seen a Turner smooth slide in the field … until now!

On Monday, in the Dodgers’ 8-2 win over the San Francisco Giants, Turner tracked down a pop-up into foul territory that he snagged with a sliding catch that turned into yet another Trea Turner Smooth Slide (trademark pending).

Check it out:

Freddie Freeman and Trea Turner laughed after Mookie Betts took a 98 mph pitch off the butt

Walk it off!

Under normal circumstances, a star player getting hit with a 98 mph fastball in a rivalry game would be no laughing matter. It’s the kind of moment that could lead to lingering tensions in future meetings between the teams.

Mookie Betts’ eighth-inning at-bat against the Giants on Sunday seemed to be the exception to that rule. All you had to do was look at his teammates Trea Turner and Freddie Freeman to see why.

With Betts leading off the inning against Camilo Doval, the Dodgers star took a 98 mph pitch right off his butt. And almost immediately, that left leg appeared to go numb for Betts. He limped over to the on-deck circle where Turner and Freeman were there to … well … laugh at Mookie’s agony. Betts was obviously fine, so of course the star teammates all found the moment funny.

You can almost hear them telling Mookie to just walk it off. Poor guy. That still had to hurt.

Betts, as expected, remained in the game. And the Dodgers won, 7-4, to complete the four-game sweep of the Giants. That kind of chemistry seemed to be a big reason why.

2022 MLB All-Star rosters: Angels’ Shohei Ohtani, Yankees’ Aaron Judge lead the starters

Dodger Stadium is going to be PACKED!

In arguably the best All-Star Game in all sports, the MLB has usually done quite well in making the Midsummer Classic a fun all-around spectacle. This year’s clash at Dodger Stadium between some of baseball’s best and brightest in the American and National Leagues should be no different.

On Friday night, in the ultimate news dump, the MLB revealed the starting position players for the 2022 All-Star Game. Some names — such as Angels’ superstar talisman Shohei Ohtani and Yankees’ “Mash Bros.” Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton — are hardly any surprises.

Others? There might be some controversy. But we’re not here to dilly dally! Here are the confirmed starting position players for the 2022 MLB All-Star Game in L.A. (The rest will be revealed on Sunday.)

Trea Turner broke out another ridiculously smooth slide and MLB fans were still impressed

SO. SMOOTH.

There are only a few baseball players out there who can make baserunning look as cool as Trea Turner. But when Turner slides into home, the smoothness is absolutely unmatched.

Over the past few seasons, Turner has wowed MLB fans with his superhuman ability to turn a baseball field into a Slip ‘N Slide. It’s difficult to even tell how he does it. He’s sliding on a dirt surface, but he’s able to glide through the plate in a single, smooth motion.

The slide truly does not get old, and we saw it in action on Wednesday night as Turner put the Dodgers on the board with a third-inning run against the Cincinnati Reds.

And here’s another look that was rudely obstructed by a Carl’s Jr. graphic.

Seriously, how does he do that? You can’t overlook the popup out of the slide either. It was all so effortless, and, of course, MLB fans continued to love it.

Trea Turner pulled off an incredibly smooth slide into home plate and MLB fans loved it

Trea Turner did it again.

Trea Turner is one of the smoothest baserunners in all of professional baseball. He has mastered the perfect slides into bases and has become well known for those slides, which is pretty impressive.

The Los Angeles Dodgers infielder pulled off another beautiful slide yesterday against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field when he was able to sneak into home plate and score a run LA’s 7-0 win in game 1 of their doubleheader.

Turner was almost out at the plate but his lengthy slide helped him, as did the ball getting away from Cubs catcher Willson Contreras.

But check out how smooth this slide was:

Silky!

MLB fans loved it.

NC State freshman Tommy White keeps hitting home runs to cheer you up during MLB’s lockout

Tommy Tanks just will not stop hitting home runs.

There’s not a ton of great baseball news out there right now.

On Feb. 28, the deadline self-imposed by MLB owners to complete a full 162-game season, the men responsible for taking care of the sport reportedly told players the league is willing to cancel a month’s worth of games. Rather than negotiate in good faith with their work force, those in power would see fit to rob the world of baseball at the highest level even longer.

During a time of year when bats should be cracking across Florida and Arizona, players like Bryce Harper are teasing joining other leagues until the owner-led lockout is over.

It’s bleak out there is what we’re saying.

But amid an MLB-less spring, there is one ray of sunshine beaming down in North Carolina that’s giving fans a reason to crane their necks towards college baseball.

His name is Tommy White. He’s a freshman at NC State. And all he does is launch mammoth home runs.

The 18-year-old out of IMG Academy in Florida stands 6’1, 220 lbs. and pairs all the energy his frame can muster with the type of hand-eye coordination that turns opposing pitchers into Little Leaguers.

Through eight games to begin his college career, White has nine home runs and 29 RBI in 34 at-bats—good for a .588 batting average.

Not only has he recorded a hit in every game he’s played this season, he’s registered multiple hits in all but one contest. Oh, and he’s already been walked five times—including twice intentionally.

That certainly seems better than the alternative for opponents, which looks a lot like this:

That last clip was, indeed, a grand slam—his second home run of the game. It’s at this point we should note that Tommy Tanks only has three strikeouts this year. Some simple math would indicate he’s three times as likely to hit a home run as he is to go down on strikes.

Sure, it’s February, and NC State’s competition will get stiffer than the likes of Evansville, High Point, Longwood and Quinnipiac soon enough, but try telling that to Wolfpack alums who already want to workout with White.

Turner is far from the only one noticing White, either. With pro baseball on hold, anyone trying to get their baseball fix in can’t stop watching him send pitches into orbit.

“I’ve never experienced a hot streak like this,” White told MLB.com’s Nick Trujilo back when he had just seven home runs. “I think I had maybe five home runs in high school my senior year, so it’s pretty cool to go on this streak. I’m not really focused on how many I hit, just focused on hard contact, focusing on the game and the wins.”

And the legend only continues to grow.

MLB Pipeline had White ranked 107 overall in the 2021 draft, grading him him with 50 hit and 55 power (on a scale of 20-80) while pretty much nailing his profile at the plate:

“The big, strong right-handed hitter is all about the bat. White, thick and barrel-chested, has the chance to hit, and with plenty of power. He never gets cheated at the plate and has power to all fields, but scouts also like his approach and the balance he shows at the plate, with a knack for consistently barreling up the baseball.”

Somehow, even that was underselling him.

MLB owners may take away a lot of joy from baseball fans this year, but Tommy White will do his best to restore as much as he can by himself.

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