Aug 20, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner (7) hits an RBI single during the seventh inning against the Seattle Mariners at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Bill Streicher
PHILADELPHIA — Trea Turner clinched the National League batting title Sunday afternoon as the Phillies defeated the Minnesota Twins in extras. He then had thoughts on why there are so few .300 hitters in today's game.
And no, Turner's takeaway after winning the second batting title of his career wasn't about launch angle, analytics or any other critique of the way the game is played today.
Rather, Turner was pretty open when asked why he believes there were so few .300 hitters this season — the game, in his opinion, is as hard as it's ever been.
"Everyone throws 100 [mph]. Everyone has six pitches. Nobody knows where the ball is going. There's a lot of reasons," Turner said in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Defenses are way better than they've ever been. If you're a defender now and you don't make plays, you get exposed. So to me, it makes a lot of sense. You can have an average pitcher throwing 95 [mph] and have six pitches, and you gotta go up there and be ready for all of them. So, I know why, but I don't know why nobody else does," Turner, with a chuckle, concluded.
It is true that this was a particularly difficult season for NL hitters for a batting average perspective. Turner had an excellent campaign, but his .304 batting average isn't something you would normally expect to win a batting title.
Consider this: When he won his first batting title in 2021 — a season he split with the Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Dodgers — he hit .328. When he hit .335 during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, he didn't win the NL batting title because Juan Soto (.351), Freddie Freeman (.341) and Marcell Ozuna (.338) all posted higher marks than him.
Trea Turner on what it means to win a batting title
(Via @TimKellySports) pic.twitter.com/ts6ApgAFSd
Granted, Turner's .304 batting average would have tied him for fifth with Jeremy Peña if he was in the AL. Aaron Judge won the batting title with a .331 average, while Bo Bichette (.311), Jacob Wilson (.311) and George Springer (.309) all finished with better marks than Turner. To a degree, this was just a down year for NL hitters, with Turner the only player in the senior circuit to even hit above .300. The next closest person to him was Nico Hoerner, who hit .297 for the Chicago Cubs.
There will certainly be a variety of think pieces done this offseason about the death of the .300 hitter. The truth is, there's probably not one simple explanation for how we got here as a sport. But when the guy being crowned NL batting champion gives his, it should certainly carry a bit of weight.
