No relationship between Justin Turner and Dodgers could have ended

The clock still hasn’t struck midnight in Justin Turner’s fairy tale.

The story of the two-time-abandoned utility man who rose to unexpected stardom with his hometown team couldn’t end now, not like this, so the 36-year-old third baseman and reigning champions of the World Series agreed to extend a relationship that symbolized renewal. one of baseball’s iconic franchises.

For at least two more seasons, the pumpkin will remain a car, mice will remain horses, and rags will remain a jeweled dress.

Turner will remain a Dodger.

The deal made too much sense for both sides not to materialize.

Turner, who grew up in Lakewood, is staying at home and playing what will likely be the rest of his career in front of fans who adore him. The Dodgers, who have become known for constantly flipping their roster, retain one of their most identifiable and trusted players.

Turner has hit .302 with 116 home runs and 406 points in his seven seasons with the Dodgers, but his value exceeds the numbers.

He’s a leader the Dodgers missed for a generation, maybe two, his voice transcending the cultural and generational boundaries that typically divide teams into cliques. His presence could be especially valuable this year, as the Dodgers bring into their clubhouse some potential, if not likely, irritating Trevor Bauer. In his introductory press conference, Bauer mentioned Turner as one of the players who told him about the organization.

The two-year, $ 34 million contract, pending a physical exam, is shorter than what Turner was looking for on the open market.

While the Dodgers won’t budge over the years, they will pay him an average of $ 17 million a year, which is $ 1 million more than his previous four-year contract.

Turner’s salary elevates the Dodgers to a realm of the luxury tax bracket that will result in their top pick in the next 10-position draft.

It does not matter.

Turner is worth it.

The story continues

He also deserved better than to see his days with the Dodgers end in controversy.

He had to be pulled from the deciding sixth game of the World Series ahead of the eighth inning due to a positive COVID-19 test. He was quarantined for the remainder of the game, but reappeared on the pitch after the Dodgers won the championship.

His celebration on the pitch, especially in the company of cancer survivor Dave Roberts, made him the reluctant subject of a national history. Major League Baseball has launched an investigation in which Turner chose not to follow protocols.

Turner later apologized.

Regardless of how other parts of the country viewed the incident, Turner remained a hero in Los Angeles.

Here, the question of whether he would return has eclipsed all other Dodgers stories this winter, including the possibility of landing Bauer, the defending National League Cy Young Award winner.

And rightly so.

The Dodgers honor military veterans at every home game. Turner is always on the lookout for the canoe, waiting to shake their hands and hand them signed baseballs.

His foundation has benefited everyone from the homeless to children with cancer to crippled veterans. He also supports the charitable efforts of his teammates.

On the pitch, he didn’t just hit, he hit when it counted.

Between the Dodgers’ World Series last year and their previous championship in 1988, this city endured 32 years without a championship. Launchers self-destruct. The hitters have stopped hitting.

The one consistent exception was Turner, who didn’t come to the Dodgers as an expensive free agent, but as a minor league contract player who was not challenged by the New York Mets.

This hard-working city has told its story of its humble beginnings and relished its down-to-earth attitude.

And when the day comes for fans to return to Dodger Stadium, they’ll be able to do what they couldn’t do when the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out the team’s championship parade.

They will be able to stand up and applaud him, not as a visiting player, but as Dodger.

In a town that knows a good story when it sees one, Turner’s will have a fitting ending.

This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.