From college freshman all-American at Cal State Fullerton, to College WS Champ, to 7th round draftee, to falling off of the face of the baseball world, to one of the best hitters in the game today; Justin Turner has had quite a journey. The MLB now knows him as arguably the most impactful position player on the Dodgers squad, but at 31-years-old, many are wondering, where did he come from? While, the ones who are Dodger fans are thanking the baseball Gods, believe it or not, Turner was supposed to be this good 7 years ago.
LA’s third baseman grew up in Long Beach (a Cali boy) and was MVP his senior year of high school as his baseball team won the league title. He then took his talents to one of the best baseball programs in the west, Cal State Fullerton, to play ball, and remain in his home state. There, he was an all-American, and was a key part of the 2004 College World Series champion Titans. In 2005 he turned down an offer from the Yankees after being drafted in the 29th round, so he finished school and his college baseball career, then took the signing bonus from the Reds after being drafted in the 7th round of the 2006 draft.
Over the next 3 and a half years Turner played in the minors at all 4 infield positions, hitting over .300 consistently, showing decent speed on the base paths, having disciplined plate appearances, and collecting a FLD% around .962 with less than 100 errors. As top prospects are valuable trade pieces, the Reds traded him to the O’s during the Winter Meetings in 08′. Thus began his downfall.
For his 09′ campaign and the beginning of the 2010 season, Turner struggled tremendously in his few brief major league stints, while he was shifted between triple-A and the show. He then was traded to the Mets where he still failed to find his footing, despite spending more time in the majors even though most of that time was sitting on the bench.
But, February 2014 was the beginning of a new era, as the Dodgers signed him to a minor league deal, and in result made the 25-man roster out of Spring Training.
The rest is history, as the minute he began to impress as he filled in for injury wridled Juan Uribe and Hanley Ramirez, Turner began to grow back into his name, then this season, a superstar. J.T may had been released by the Mets in 2013, but playing for the New York organization guided him to meeting former teammate Marlon Byrd‘s offseason hitting instructor who was based in Chatsworth, CA. Thus began the journey back home where it all began; and thanks to that, Turner has hit merely .300 in just under 400 games for the Blue Crew, including a SLG% of .492, while also hitting over .400 for LA in the postseason, and solidifying his role at 3rd base. Justin Turner is the living defeniton of why baseball is so magical.
