Phillies fans are making push to give struggling Trea Turner standing ovation
There is momentum building on social media for Philadelphia Phillies fans to give struggling shortstop Trea Turner a standing ovation of encouragement during their game on Friday night.
The movement started with 94WIP host/producer Jack Fritz on Thursday after Turner had a brutal series in Miami that saw him go 1-for-16 at the plate and boot a ball in the field that helped cost the Phillies a potential win and what could have been a four-game sweep in a huge series against a rival wild card contender.
The Phillies enter Friday occupying the second wild-card spot in the National League with a one-game lead.
A Twitter poll (as unscientific as that might be) posted by WIP on Friday morning had more than 72 percent of respondents say they would favor such a move by the Phillies faithful.
As nice as that gesture seems, it is all a little difficult to comprehend.
This is Philadelphia, and these are Philadelphia sports fans. While they are an extremely loyal and passionate group of people, they are not really known for their patience or tolerance for underperforming, big-money players.
The Phillies signed Turner to an 11-year, $300M contract in free agency this past winter to be their long-term shortstop and add some significant power and speed to an already deep lineup. But so far the early returns have been brutal.
As of Friday, Turner is hitting .235 with a .657 OPS for what has been one of his worst offensive performances as a big leaguer. The only other time in his 10-year career that he posted an OPS worse than .760 was his rookie season when he played in just 27 games and registered only 40 at-bats.
Ever since then, he has consistently been one of the top offensive shortstops in baseball with a unique combination of power and speed.
Prior to joining the Phillies, he had posted four consecutive seasons with an OPS of .800 or better with the Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Dodgers.
If nothing else all of this makes Turner's first at-bat on Friday extremely fascinating. Will he get the standing ovation? Will it matter? If he does, how long will the cheers and support last if he continues to struggle at the plate? The Phillies need Turner to get back on track not only for their playoff chances this season but because they have soo much money invested in him over the next 11 years.
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