If there is one lasting memory of the 2023 World Baseball Classic, it might be that Tria Turner is all about the rules.
Turner made another comeback for Team USA in Tuesday night’s WBC Championship match against Japan. He connected in the second inning for his fifth home run of the tournament, which tied the record in a single Classic. Turner matched Song Yup Lee’s five home run for Korea in the 2006 WBC opener.
The home run also gave Turner 11 RBIs in this WBC, third all-time behind Masataka Yoshida of Japan’s 13 this year and the 12 hit by Dutchman Vladimir Ballentine in 2017.
Turner’s increased strength was one of the main motivating factors for Team USA – even as it essentially reached the bottom of the USA standings. His last home run put the USA up 1-0 early against Japan.
Turner’s second-round WBC home run was the go-to grand slam against Venezuela in the quarterfinals, as a 7–5 deficit in the eighth inning turned into a 9–7 win.
He was also involved in the 12-1 victory over Canada in the third game of pool play for the USA, and had two home runs in the USA’s 14-2 semi-final victory over Cuba.
Turner’s first home run in that game traveled 428 feet into the stands at Depot Park. Four innings later, he had his second three-run home run and blew the game open for Team USA.
“Coffee ninja. Web fan. Hipster-friendly beer enthusiast. Professional creator.”