An Emmy for… Phillies shortstop Trea Turner?
Trea Turner, already a National League batting champ and World Series winner, can now add a new – and unexpected – honor to his résumé: being part of an Emmy-winning project.
“Trea Turner’s an Emmy winner, no doubt,” said Kyle Thrash, producer of a sports documentary. “He held that trophy like it was his.”
While Turner doesn’t get to keep the award permanently, he did get to lift the actual Emmy before Friday night’s game against the Blue Jays. The trophy was awarded for “The Turnaround”, a short sports documentary that captured the emotional 2023 moment when Phillies fans gave Turner a rousing standing ovation that helped reverse his season’s trajectory.
Produced by Higher Ground, the production company founded by Barack and Michelle Obama, The Turnaround won a Sports Emmy in May. Thrash and Phillies fan Jon McCann – whose mental health journey and bond with Turner formed the emotional core of the film – were on hand at the stadium to celebrate and show the award to Turner.
“We did it, huh?!” McCann said, shaking Turner’s hand after batting practice. “Trea Turner, we share an Emmy now.”
Turner even read the Emmy’s inscription and promised fans in section 301 he’d give them a wave if he stole a base that night.
“We get to bring a trophy to the park and share it with everyone involved in that special moment,” Thrash said.
In August 2023, Turner was struggling at the plate during the first year of his $300 million deal, hitting just .238. Phillies fans, often notorious for being harsh, instead chose to lift him up—giving him standing ovations during an entire weekend series against the Royals. At the time, Turner had been moved down to eighth in the batting order.
That support paid off. Turner responded with a strong performance over the weekend and played a key role in the team’s push to the playoffs. As a thank you, he later funded digital billboards reading “Thank You, Philly” across the region.
McCann, also known as “The Philly Captain” on YouTube, along with a local sports radio host, helped rally fans to back Turner.
Reflecting on the Emmy win, McCann said, “One of the presenters mentioned, ‘When you’re up against the Olympics, you usually lose.’ So I thought we were out of luck. But we weren’t. It was an amazing surprise.”
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