BIOGRAPHY
Justin Turner was born November 23, 1984, in Long Beach, California. He is an infielder in the MLB.
He was selected in the seventh round of the 2006 Major League Baseball draft by the Cincinnati Reds, and made his major league debut in 2009. With the Dodgers, Turner was an All-Star in 2017, and won the 2017 National League Championship Series Most Valuable Player Award. He won the 2020 World Series with the Dodgers.
In the 2015 National League Division Series against his former team the Mets, Turner led the Dodgers with 10 hits in 19 ABs for a .526 average, with an LDS record 6 of those hits being doubles.
Turner started the 2017 season batting .379. On July 6, he won the All-Star Final Vote, earning a spot in the 2017 Major League Baseball All-Star Game with 20.8 million votes, a Final Vote record. Turner finished the season with a .322 batting average, a .415 on-base percentage, 21 home runs, and 71 RBI, finishing third in the NL in batting average and second in on-base percentage. In the 2017 NLDS, he had six hits in 13 at-bats (.462 average), including a winning home run in the ninth inning of Game 2 against the Chicago Cubs. Turner and Chris Taylor were selected as the co-MVPs of the 2017 National League Championship Series, where he batted .333 with two home runs and seven RBI.
Turner was named the Los Angeles Dodgers' 2018 nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award, an annual award given to the player who "best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, and community involvement." In 202 at-bats after the All-Star break, Turner hit .356 with a 1.066 OPS, 24 doubles, and 9 home runs. Turner would finish the season with a .312 batting average, 14 home runs, and 52 RBIs. Turner's hot streak continued in the 2018 NLDS, where he reached base in 9 of 18 plate appearances. He went on to hit .333 (8-for-24) in the 2018 World Series, which his team lost to the Boston Red Sox.
In 2019, Turner hit a career-high three home runs and drove in six runs against the Atlanta Braves on May 8 in a 9-0 win. On June 14, he hit his 100th career home run off of Kyle Hendricks in a 5-3 win against the Chicago Cubs.
The 2020 season was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, shortening the season to only 60 games. On Opening Day, Turner was hit with a pitch for the 73rd time as a Dodger, tying the franchise record set by Zack Wheat. He broke that record on August 5 in San Diego. He played in 42 games for the Dodgers, hitting .307/.400/.460 with four homers and 23 RBIs. He was voted by his teammates as the winner of the Roy Campanella Award, the first three-time winner in franchise history. In the 2020 World Series against the Tampa Bay Rays, Turner had eight hits (including two home runs) in 25 at-bats as the Dodgers won the championship.
On August 29, 2021, Turner made his pitching debut in the 9th inning of the Dodgers' 5-0 loss to the Colorado Rockies. He threw 10 pitches (his fastest was 76 mph) for all 3 outs, gave up 0 runs, and exited the game to a standing ovation. In 2021, he played in 151 games with a .278 batting average, 27 home runs and 87 RBI.
In 2022, Turner split his time between third base and designated hitter, appearing in 128 games and batting .278 with 13 homers and 81 RBIs. At the end of the year, he was awarded the Roberto Clemente Award for being an active and charitable member of the community.
On January 6, 2023, Turner signed a contract with the Boston Red Sox for the 2023 season.
Turner signed a one-year deal with the Toronto Blue Jays for the 2024 season.
