PHILADELPHIA -- Trea Turner returned to the Phillies lineup on Sunday. He finished the game healthy and with a batting title.
The Phillies capped the 2025 regular season with a 2-1 victory over the Twins in 10 innings at Citizens Bank Park. They will play either the Dodgers or the Reds in the NL Division Series, beginning with Game 1 on Saturday. It was a mostly inconsequential game for the Phillies on Sunday, other than Turner playing for the first time since he strained his right hamstring on Sept. 7 in Miami.
Turner went 0-for-2, leaving the game after five innings as planned.
It was a success. Turner played defense. He saw pitches. He felt good. He finished the season batting .304 with 31 doubles, seven triples, 15 home runs, 69 RBIs, 94 runs scored, 36 stolen bases and an .812 OPS.
He finished sixth in the Majors and third in the NL with 6.7 WAR, according to FanGraphs.
Turner also won the Phillies’ first batting title since Richie Ashburn in 1958.
“I think it’s cool,” Turner said. “I think only one guy gets it in each league, which makes it tough. You can’t vote on it, stuff like that. It makes it cool. I think the ERA title and batting title are cool awards. I think it just means you had a consistent year, a good year. It’s hard to compete with 150 hitters or however many there are. It’s rewarding.”
Turner was the only player in the NL to hit .300 this season. Six AL players hit .300.
Asked why it’s been so hard to hit .300, Turner didn’t miss a beat.
“Everyone throws 100 [mph],” he said. “Everyone has six pitches. Nobody knows where the ball is going. There’s a lot of reasons. Defenses are way better than they’ve ever been. You know, if you’re a defender now and you don’t make plays, you get exposed. So, to me, it makes a lot of sense. You can have an average pitcher throwing 95 and have six pitches, and you’ve got to go up there and be ready for all of them.
“I know why, but I don’t know why nobody else does.”
The NL batting champ will be leading off and playing shortstop for the Phillies on Saturday. He said his hamstring never really got tested on Sunday, but even if he had an opportunity to test it, he wouldn’t have.
“I knew if I was going to hit a ground ball somewhere, I wasn’t going to do anything stupid,” he said. “Today was more about getting out there, just kind of feeling it again. More about seeing pitches and being on defense. I didn’t really get anything on defense, but the at-bats felt good. I knew if I hit something, I wasn’t going to be going crazy, like I could have.”
But could he go “crazy” in Game 1, if needed?
“Yeah, that’s what I’m hoping for, for sure,” Turner said.