Trey Turner (30, Philadelphia Phillies) of the United States shot multiple homers in the semifinals of the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) and rose to first place in the home run category of the tournament.
The United States won 14-2 in the 2023 WBC semifinal match against Cuba held at Rondipo Park in Miami, Florida, USA on the 20th (hereinafter Korean time). Following the 2017 competition, they succeeded in advancing to the finals once again, continuing their cruising journey toward their second consecutive victory.
The strike line, which the United States is proud of, literally ‘bombed’ the Cuban mound that day. He gave up a run in the top of the first inning, but at the end of the first inning, fourth hitter Paul Goldschmidt (36, St. Louis Cardinals) took the lead right away with a come-from-behind two-run homer.
The extra point was also a home run. Turner, who started as the ninth hitter and shortstop, hit a solo home run after two outs in the bottom of the second inning, making the score 3-1.
In the quarterfinal match against Venezuela the previous day, Turner hit a come-from-behind home run in the top of the 8th inning, leading the U.S. to win.
Turner’s bat never cooled down. At the end of the 6th inning, with 1 out and 1st and 2nd base, he hit another home run and tasted the excitement. With the 4th home run of this tournament, he beat Ha-seong Kim (28, San Diego Padres), who is recording 3 home runs, and was named the sole leader in the 2023 WBC home run.
Turner wielded a fire bat with 3 hits, 4 RBIs and 2 runs scored in 5 at-bats, including 2 home runs, and played a key role in advancing to the US final. In his first WBC appearance in his life, he was given the opportunity to wear the championship ring as well as the home run king.
Turner moved from the Los Angeles Dodgers to the Philadelphia Phillies after last season. His contract period was 11 years, and he signed a super-large free agent contract for a total of $ 300 million (about 392.1 billion won) and was treated as the best shortstop in the big leagues. 안전놀이터
Ha-seong Kim went down to second place in the 2023 WBC home run category. Kim Ha-seong hit 3 home runs in 4 games in Group B in the 1st round, but after Korea failed to advance to the 2nd round, he returned to his team and is preparing for the opening game of the regular season.
In the WBC history, Korean players finished the tournament with the first place in home runs in 2006 Lee Seung-yeop (5 home runs), and in 2009 Kim Tae-gyun and Lee Bum-ho (more than 3 home runs).