Before Christmas, the Boston Red Sox and Justin Turner agreed to a 2-year deal. After spending 9 years with the Dodgers, Justin Turner is not returning to Los Angeles.
Looking back at Justin Turner’s career, his days with the Dodgers are truly memorable.
Justin Turner was selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the 7th round of the 2006 draft. He was traded to the Orioles in 2008. On September 8, 2009, he made his MLB debut. In 2009, he played 12 games for the Orioles, hitting only .167/.318/.167. He didn’t smash any home runs in 2009. The next year, he played 5 games for the Orioles and 4 games for the Mets. Unfortunately, he only collected 1 hit in 9 games.
In 2011, Justin Turner played 117 games for the Mets and batted .260/.334/.356 with 4 home runs and 51 RBI. In 2012, he played 94 games and the next season, he played 86 games. Turner crushed 2 home runs in each of these 2 seasons.
In February 2014, Turner signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers. He was invited to spring training. In his first season with the Dodgers, Turner slashed .340/.404/.493 with 7 home runs and 43 RBI in 109 games. In 2015, he hit .294/.370/.491 with 16 home runs and 60 RBI. It was the first time that Turner crushed 10+ home runs in a single season.
In addition, Justin Turner was selected to the All-Star game in 2017. In that season, he hit .322/.415/.530 with 21 home runs and 71 RBI. Moreover, he and Chris Taylor were named the 2017 NLCS co-MVP. In 2018, Turner began his season on the IL. But, Turner still showed that he was one of the most reliable hitters in the majors. Turner slashed .312/.406/.518 with 14 home runs and 52 RBI in 103 games in 2018. In 2017 and 2018, Turner finished each season with an OPS over .900.
From 2019 to 2021, Turner had an OPS over .800 each season. Last year, he hit .278/.350/.438 with 13 HRs and 81 RBI in 128 games. However, his OPS dropped to .788. In Turner’s 9 years with the Dodgers, he slashed .296/.375/.490 with 156 home runs and 574 RBI.
When we look back at Turner’s career stats, from 2009 to 2013, he only had 8 home runs and never finished a single season with an OPS over .800. Nonetheless, after joining the Dodgers, Justin Turner has become one of the most reliable hitters in the Dodgers lineup. From 2014 to 2021, he owned an OPS over .800 each season. In 2022, his OPS was .788. Nevertheless, his OPS+ was 116, which was 16 percent better than league average.
At the beginning of Turner’s career, he didn’t have too many opportunities and it might be hard to call him a dangerous hitter. However, from 2014 to 2022, Justin Turner surely had 9 great seasons with the Dodgers. He has become an All-Star and most importantly, he and the Dodgers won the 2020 World Series title.
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