Justin Turner refuses to make excuses for Dodgers postseason disappointment

Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner spoke out on the team’s disappointing postseason run and refuses to make excuses.

The Los Angeles Dodgers had a tough ending to their postseason journey when they were knocked out by the San Diego Padres in the NLDS. They had everything going for them in the regular season with the best record in the league and one of the best records of all time, and Justin Turner acknowledged that while also accepting responsibility.

Turner shared a long statement on Instagram that essentially says he feels all of the pain, heartbreak and frustration that many Dodger faithful feel, and that no excuses or blame will change the outcome. He went on to thank his fans for their love and loyalty through it all.

In a time of heartbreak for the Dodgers, Turner emerged as a great example of what it looks like to be a class act. It probably would’ve been easier to point fingers and blame everything that went wrong on others, but no matter what, the outcome will always be that the Dodgers didn’t make it past the NLDS in 2022.

Turner did mention several highlights of the season, including leading attendance at home and on the road. Their attendance was so powerful that their “zip code was blocked from buying playoff tickets down South.” Dodgers fans may have watched the season end in a disappointing way, but they still have a lot to be proud of this season.

Dodgers fans should remain proud of the regular season success

The Dodgers have gone through a lot of team development over the past few years. They’ve frequently finished first in the NL West standings, but their division hasn’t necessarily been the most competitive. In comparison to the entire league, the Dodgers lineup was slightly above league average until this season.

They signed a lot of big talent over the past few seasons, including Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts and Trea Turner. This fortified their lineup immensely, and this regular season, they finished with the fourth-best batting average (.257), best on-base percentage (.333), second-best slugging percentage (.442) and best OPS (.775).

Just one season prior, they weren’t nearly as impactful. Though they still had clear talent in the lineup, they weren’t thought of as one of the bests. In 2021, they finished the regular season with the 11th-best batting average (.244), fifth-best on-base percentage (.330), seventh-best slugging percentage (.429) and sixth-best OPS (.759).

They won the 2020 World Series, which was one of the most irregular seasons in history due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That was their third World Series appearance between 2017 and 2018, but they lost the two prior in 2017 and 2018. Before that, their last appearance was in 1988. They clearly began to get themselves together as contenders by the end of the 2010s.

This season, they exploded onto the scene, finishing the regular season with a record of 111-51 and a winning percentage of .685. Though they didn’t beat the Padres in the NLDS, they beat them in every regular season series.

They also had good representation with Freeman leading the league in hits (199) and doubles (47). They’ve continued to get better each season and there’s a lot to be proud of, as Turner reminded fans during this difficult time.