The clock still hasn’t struck Justin Turner’s fairy tale at midnight.
The story of the twice-thrown-out handyman who got unexpected star time with his hometown team could not end now, not so, so the 36-year-old third baseman and defending World Series champions have agreed to expand a relationship that symbolizes the revival. of one of baseball’s distinctive franchises.
For at least another two seasons, the pumpkin will remain a chariot, the mice will remain horses and the rags a jewel in jewels.
Turner will remain a dodger.
The agreement made too much sense for both sides not to happen.
Raised in Lakewood, Turner stays home and plays out what will likely be the rest of his career in front of fans who adore him. The Dodgers, who have become known for constantly changing their list, retain one of their most identifiable and reliable players.
Turner batted .302 with 116 home runs and 406 runs over his seven seasons with the Dodgers, but his value extends beyond the numbers.
He’s a leader the Dodgers have been missing for a generation, maybe two, and his voice transcends the cultural and generational boundaries that typically divide teams into cliques. His presence could be particularly valuable this year as the Dodgers pose a potentially, if not likely, annoying role in Trevor Bauer in their clubhouse. In his introductory news conference, Bauer mentions Turner as one of the players who spoke to him about the organization.
The $ 34 million two-year contract, which is a physical agreement, is shorter than what Turner sought on the open market.
Although the Dodgers would not move over the years, they would pay him an average of $ 17 million a year, which is $ 1 million more than he did in his previous four-year deal.
Turner’s salary raises the Dodgers to a wealth of luxury tax dollars that will lead to their first choice in the next draft to drop ten positions.
Does not matter.
Turner is worth it.
He also earned better than ending his days with the Dodgers in controversy.
He had to be removed before the eighth inning of the decisive sixth match of the World Series due to a positive COVID-19 test. He was quarantined for the rest of the game, but reappeared on the field after the Dodgers won the championship.
His celebration on the field, especially in the company of cancer survivor Dave Roberts, made him the reluctant subject of a national story. Major League Baseball has launched an investigation in which it was found that Turner chose to disregard protocols.
Turner later apologized.
Justin Turner and his wife, Kourtney Pogue, are celebrating after the Dodgers won the World Series in October. Turner later apologized for celebrating on the field after receiving a positive COVID-19 test.
(Tom Pennington / Getty Images)
Regardless of how other parts of the country viewed the incident, Turner remained a hero in Los Angeles.
Here, the question of whether he would return this winter overshadowed every other Dodgers storyline, including the possibility of landing Bauer, the reigning winner of the National League’s Cy Young Award.
And rightly so.
The Dodgers honor military veterans during every home game. Turner is always on the verge of digging and waiting to shake their hands and give signature of their handballs.
Its foundation benefits everyone from the homeless to cancer-stricken children to paralyzed veterans. He also supports his teammates’ charitable efforts.
On the field, he not only hit, but also hit when it counted.
Between the Dodgers’ World Series last year and their previous championship in 1988, this city endured 32 years without a championship. Jars self-destruct. Hitters stopped hitting.
The only exceptional exception was Turner, who did not come to the Dodgers as an expensive free agent, but as a player on a small league contract not offered by the New York Mets.
This hard-working city is related to his story about his humble beginnings and enjoying his earthly attitude.
And when the day comes for fans to return to Dodger Stadium, they will be able to do what they could not do when the COVID-19 pandemic cleared the team’s championship parade.
They will be able to stand and cheer him on, not as a visiting player, but as a Dodger.
In a city that knows a good story when he sees one, Turner will have a proper ending.