Trea Turner finished the 2022 regular season with the second-most hits in baseball with 194, behind only his Los Angeles Dodgers teammate Freddie Freeman, but he also batted below .300 for the first time since 2019.
The speedy shortstop spent most of the season with a batting average .300, but in September, Turner hit .257/.296/.404. The offensive struggles left him frustrated, according to Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, and caused the 29-year-old to take extra practice before many of games.
“When he’s going well, he’s not a guy that’s out here taking extra batting practice,” Roberts said this week. “But right now, he’s trying to feel something. There is a point of diminishing returns, but I don’t think we’re there with Trea.”
In the final game of the season, something seemed to click for Turner as he hit a three-run home run and added a single, which couldn’t come at a better time as the Dodgers now turn their attention to the playoffs.
“It feels good to have some success after all the swings and everything I’ve done the last few days, few weeks and even a couple months,” Turner said. “It was good to end on a high note and get ready for the postseason to try to keep rolling there.”
Turner said the swing on his home run was the type he was trying to find in batting practice where he was working on driving the ball more and trying to find extra power to the opposite field.
“So to get a pitch out over the plate in a hitter’s count, and hit it where I feel like in my brain that ball is supposed to go, is nice,” Turner explained. “That’s how I envision those things.
“Whether that gets caught or goes over the fence — obviously I would like for it to go over the fence — but if that gets caught, even that makes me feel better that I hit that pitch in that location. Good step in the right direction, but I’ve got to repeat it and stick with it.”
Dave Roberts hoping Trea Turner’s struggles lead to postseason success
Last season, Turner finished the year as the National League batting champion, only to then struggle mightily in the postseason. Roberts is hopeful those results will be the opposite this year.
“Last year, he might’ve finished as one of the best hitters in baseball the last couple weeks,” Roberts said.
“This year, he’s trying to find his way. I think it just speaks to how unpredictable baseball is. Didn’t have a good postseason last year, and was the hottest hitter on the planet. So hopefully we flip it on its head this year.”
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