Dodgers News: Justin Turner Still Looking Back at Time in LA Fondly

After nine years in Los Angeles, Justin Turner’s time with the Dodgers ended abruptly when he was told the team not going to resign him in last year’s offseason. Now with the Red Sox, Turner gets the opportunity to face his former team for the first time.

Although he wishes he could have stayed in LA for the rest of his career, Turner is still happy for the opportunities the Dodgers gave him during his time there.

“There was no doubt that was a turning point in my career. It’s where things took off for me,” said Turner, who left the Dodgers as the franchise’s all-time leader in postseason hits and home runs. “Putting on that uniform was obviously special, being a Southern California kid and going on to accomplish the things that I accomplished there was something I’d never dreamed.”

Via Orange County Register

Before Turner got to the Dodgers in 2014, he was a borderline MLB player struggling to find playing time on the Mets and Orioles. In the first five years of his career, Turner was a below-average player as his OPS+ was 95 with the Mets and -6 with the Orioles.

When he got to LA, his career did a 180. In his first season playing home games at Dodger Stadium, Turner was third in the National League with a .340 batting average. He set a career high in home runs with 7 and his OPS+ was 142.

Fast forward eight seasons, Turner finished his tenure with the Dodgers hitting 156 home runs, 574 RBIs, a .296 batting average and an OPS of .865.

Now that the Dodgers are coming to Boston to face the Red Sox, Turner wants to remind the Dodgers what they are missing out on.

“Any time you play against your old team, you want to do good against them and show them that you think they made a mistake,” Turner said. “I think it’s the same for every guy you ask.”

Via Orange County Register

This season with the Red Sox, Turner is batting .289 with an OPS of .843. In the first game of the weekend series, Turner went 0-5 with a strikeout.

Have you subscribed to our Youtube Channel yet? Subscribe and hit that notification bell to stay up to date on all the latest Dodgers news, rumors, interviews, live streams, and more!

Photo Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports