Former Wolfpack Baseball standout shortstop and current Washington Nationals’ up and comer, Trea Turner, went deep for the first time as a major leaguer earlier this past week in front of about a dozen or so folks in Atlanta, as the Nats and Bravos play out the string.
Trea Turner hits first major league home run in Nationals’ loss to Braves (WashingtonPost.com)
ATLANTA — Trea Turner raced out of the batter’s box, flashing his blazing speed. By the time the baby-faced, Dr. Pepper-drinking, candy-eating rookie’s first major league home run clanked off the empty seats in left field at Turner Field, he was already near second base. After easing up and crossing home plate, Turner couldn’t hold back his smile as he walked by Bryce Harper on deck and into the dugout.
There Washington Nationals teammates high-fived the team’s potential shortstop of the future, a skinny prospect known for attributes other than his power. For weeks, in fact, soon-to-be-free agent shortstop Ian Desmond has been teasing Turner about adding more weight to his generously listed 6-foot-1, 175-pound frame.
“For 135 pounds soaking wet, he hit that ball a long way,” Desmond said with a grin.
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Desmond, the Nationals’ longtime shortstop, has helped Turner, too. Turner has admitted he thought the situation would be “weird,” but Desmond has been “great.” And one of the things Desmond has been teasing Turner about is his scrawny frame.
“He’s been on me a lot telling me I need to gain some weight,” Turner said. “I love Dr. Pepper, and anytime he sees me with a Dr. Pepper he takes it from me.”
The problem is Turner loves, in his words, bad food. He is young, so he burns the calories away quickly. But how will he gain the weight to help his power?
“More food in general,” Turner said with a smile recently. “Less candy and more food.”
Funny, I don’t have that problem with Dr. Pepper and candy making me too skinny. I must be doing it wrong.
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