Former Dodgers All-Star Justin Turner Still Booed By Padres Fans With New Team

The Los Angeles Dodgers last had Justin Turner on the roster in 2022. The former fan-favorite has since played for four other MLB franchises as he now finds himself on the Chicago Cubs.

After a three-game series with L.A., his new team traveled further south to take on the San Diego Padres. It was at Petco Park that he learned that Friars fans are very slow to forget.

Over nine seasons in a Dodgers uniform, Turner had his fair share of battles against the Padres. Across his career, he has 26 home runs and 84 RBIs against San Diego — both are more than his stats against any other team he has faced.

Turner had to let his teammates know about his history with his former divisional rival as over 47,000 fans at Petco Park were booing the veteran.

“A lot of guys were like, ‘Man, they love you here, huh?”  Turner said. “Honestly, I’m glad they’re booing me. It means I did some good things here in the past. If they weren’t booing me, I probably didn’t do too much to help them lose games.”

The former Dodgers fan favorite certainly did his part in earning those boos after almost a decade of success in L.A. The Dodgers won the division eight out of the nine years Turner spent with the team.

Turner also remarked on not just the size of the crowd, but the passion they had through the extra innings defeat. The San Diego Union-Tribune's Jeff Sanders noted it was the third-largest in the stadium's history.

“I think last night was Padre Hawaiian shirt giveaway, which apparently is a pretty big night in the stadium,” Turner said. “No, I think obviously over the last four or five years they’ve been putting a good product on the field and the fans are loving it and showing up and they are excited. It’s a good environment.”

The boos from Padres fans only solidify that once somebody is a fan favorite and champion with a team, they will forever be linked to them, wherever their career takes them.