The city of Philadelphia united behind Trea Turner this weekend and the Phillies shortstop took that to heart.
Turner was downtrodden after failing to make a game-ending play last week in Miami and admitted as much after the game. Rather than piling on, Phillies fans supported the shortstop with several standing ovations this weekend.
Jonathan Papelbon was a polarizing figure during his time in Philadelphia and also played with Trea Turner in Washington. The former closer had some advice for Turner and praise for Phillies fans during his appearance on Audacy’s original podcast “Baseball Isn’t Boring” on Monday.
“You got to go back and pull all your years of baseball in the major leagues that you’ve played and at this point in time in your career, you got to learn to be your own coach,” Papelbon said (8:20 in player above). “You got to learn what works for you. What can you try real quick? What can you be able to delete real quick? What can you keep real quick? All of these things come into play.
It’s a transition and you’re going to have times throughout the season where you’re going to have to make adjustments and that’s what he’s going to have to do right now.”
Not only can Turner coach himself up, but his teammates and even the fans can do the same.
“The great thing about Phillies fans is they know how to push buttons, and they know how to push the right buttons I believe,” Papelbon said. “Sometimes they can push the wrong buttons … but I would rather a city that wanted to push that envelope and expect a lot out of their players.”
It certainly looks like the Phillies faithful pushed the right buttons this weekend as Turner had hits in all three games, including a go-ahead three-run home run in Saturday’s victory.
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