As a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Justin Turner found himself taking part in the postseason in each of the last nine seasons. Now that he's a member of the Red Sox, a team that just finished last for the second time in the last three seasons, he fully intends to keep playing October baseball.
"It's interesting, we did make the postseason every year (while with the Dodgers),'' said Turner in a Zoom call with reporters. "Our teams fluctuated in L.A. from a ton of superstars to fewer superstars and whatnot. But the thing that I learned was that, what's on paper doesn't make you win a World Series. What it says on paper doesn't equate to a World Series. It's what you have in the clubhouse. It's the group of guys that you have. It sounds like a cliche, but (what's important) is, getting all 26 guys pulling on the same end of the rope.
"I think there's a lot of talent in the (Red Sox) clubhouse. I think there is an opportunity to have success and to make a run in the playoffs. It wasn't that long ago, that the Red Sox made that (postseason) run in 2021 that was spectacular. And I don't think anyone was really putting their finger on the Red Sox going into that September, (expecting) that they were going to make the run they did. Everybody has the opportunity and it's about the guys in the clubhouse and what you make of it.''
In Boston, Turner will be joining some former Dodger teammates like Kikรฉ Hernandez and Alex Verdugo, along with two other recent additions -- relievers Kenley Jansen and Chris Martin -- who will be joining him as first-year Red Sox players. Hernandez played a big role in recruiting him.
But the familiarity of joining a number of former teammates was far from the biggest allure for Turner.
"Joining another historic franchise and getting an opportunity to leave my mark on them and trying to contribute to bringing another championship back to Boston,'' said Turner, citing his goals. "I think every player wants to win and wants to win a World Series. That's a goal. I'm not coming here to try to teach everyone how to become a good person and be a cheerleader in the clubhouse. I want to go out, compete and play and win baseball games. That was a big factor for me.''
As a Southern California native -- born in Long Beach, Turner played college ball at Cal State Fullerton -- it was Turner's hope that he could continue his career with the Dodgers. But that wasn't to be.
"When you're with a team that long and you're going into free agency,'' said Turner, "you're kind of always waiting and hoping that they're in play. But there's a point where you realize this is a business. They had decisions they had to make and I had decisions I had to make and it just didn't work out. Fortunately, I get to land in a place like Boston that has historic roots in the game and I'm looking forward to being a part of this franchise.''
Turner's been told that he'll serve primarily as the DH, with additional playing time at the corner infield spots.
"But it's one thing to talk about roles,'' he said, "and it's another thing once the season gets going and things that go into it. So I've done a lot of things in my career. I've been a part of a bunch of a different roles. I'm not really coming into it with the mindset that I have one job, or one role. I'm going to be ready to play wherever (Alex Cora) needs me to play and understand that over the course of 162, a lot of things happen.''
As someone who has spent the vast majority of his career in the National League, Turner has played just a handful of games at Fenway Park in his career, but he sees it as a good environment for his hitting style.
"Pulling the ball in the air is one of my strengths and when I'm right at the plate, that's something I do very well,'' he said. "I don't think that coming in there and trying to be a 'dead-red, turn-and-burn' guy is ideal. I don't think that's what I'm going to end up doing. But when I'm feeling good, I'm spraying balls all over the place, but with a lot of pull-side balls in the air. I'm hoping that benefits me, with that short porch over there. I joked a lot in L.A. about how many times I flied out to the warning track. So I think (being at Fenway) is going to change some of those warning track flyouts into long singles or doubles and hopefully create some more extra-base hits.''