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Dodgers: Justin Turner Reveals How Zack Greinke Helped Turn Him into the Hitter He is Now

These days, when you hear the name Justin Turner you immediately think of Dodgers All-Star third baseman. But he wasn’t always that guy. Flashback about 7-8 years and he was a utility infielder that was cut by the New York Mets (lolmets). Turner signed with the Dodgers during the 2013-2014 offseason and, after making the team out of spring training, went on to post the best season of his career up to that point.

Now, we’ve heard much over the years about JT’s swing changes from that offseason and working with swing guru Doug Latta among others that helped alter the trajectory of his batted balls and career. But it seems that Turner has another guy to thank.



Earlier this year in a chat with Jomboy Media’s Chris Rose, the veteran recalled a conversation he had with then-teammate Zack Greinke that not only helped him become a two-time National League All-Star, but also the all-time hit by pitch lead for the Dodgers’ franchise.

The Zack Greinke story. He helped me kind of become the hitter that I am today because I actually sat next to him on the bench one night and I asked him, I said, ‘Greinke, if you were pitching to me, how do you get me out?’ And in Greinke fashion, he’ll be like, well, he won’t answer you. He’ll say, ‘let me go look at something — I’ll go look it up and then I’ll get back to you.’

So the next day he gets back to me and I’m like, ‘well, what do you got?’ And he’s like, ‘I would throw you 100 straight fastballs away.’ And I said, ‘what are you talking about? Like, 70% of my hits are the other way.’ And he’s like, ‘yeah, but all your hits are closer to you. You take the ball that’s close to you and you shoot it the other way. You don’t do anything on the ball out over.’ And I asked if he thought I should get on top of the plate, and he said, ‘if I were you, I’d get as close to the plate as you possibly can.’ And from that day forward, I stood on top of the plate and now I’m the all-time hit by pitch leader for the Dodgers. Because of Greinke.

Greinke and Turner were teammates in 2014 and 2015. Over that time, JT transformed himself from high-quality utility man to starting third baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

What makes this great is this one little story paints a picture of that life on the bench for pro athletes and teammates. How young players should never be afraid to ask questions, even if they’re asking someone like Zack Greinke. It’s also something that resembles a baseball story and, in the midst of a lockout, that’s nice to see.

NEXT: MLB Insider Gives LA a Mediocre Offseason Grade

Clint Pasillas

Clint Pasillas has been writing, blogging, and podcasting about the Los Angeles Dodgers since 2008. Under Clint's leadership as the Lead Editor, Dodgers Nation has grown into one of the most read baseball sites in the world with millions of unique visitors per month. Find him online on Twitter/X or his YouTube channel!

9 Comments

  1. Greinke is one pitcher who lived up to that 200M contract, he’s rarely missed a start in those 6 years, and posted a 77-39 record, mostly for a weak arizona team. He’s one of my favorite pitchers, I wish the Dodgers would have kept him, maybe they’d have another world series win or two.

    1. Spot on Jackson. That was the penny pinching Dodgers days. It really came back to haunt them as Grienke not only was a consistent pitcher, but he was MONEY in the post season. Still Is!!! Great athlete, great defensive pitcher, great hitter, could bunt, just a excellent baseball player. That Greinke Kershaw punch was something, and if they would have just got one more starter they would have won with him.

      1. Penny-pinching Dodgers? That is pretty funny, given what their payroll is. They tried to re-sign Greinke when he opted out. And he has not been worth what that AZ contract gave him. He has not been dominant.

  2. Nice story. Never dawned on me that
    accomplished pitchers would be a great resource to a young hitter or a vet trying to come out of a slump. Greinke for hitting coach!

  3. Title “How Zack Greinke Helped Turn Him into the Hitter He is ”

    Actual quote: “I’m the all-time hit by pitch leader for the Dodgers”

    Guess he’s being funny.

  4. I sit in on 99% of the Dodger games with the pitch by pitch MLB live box score, because I live in Wisconsin. Many, many of J.T.’s hits are to right field because, the opposing pitcher went outside and J.T. went with it. It happens so often that I look for it. J.T’s at bats are often the highlight of the game for me, anticipating what he will do with pitches based on location in the strike zone. Several years ago I remember hearing C.T. 3 say that J.T. helped him with his hitting the first year he caught fire as a hitter. The leg kick now seems to be gone for C.T. 3, but he can still hit like J.T. JM

  5. Greinke didn’t get along with Mr. Puig as I recall & that was, I believe, the biggest reason he left the Dodgers.

  6. Mr.Greinke is not a very nice person, sorry to offend ya’ll, he once stated during the pandemic with no one in attendance that he really liked that because he really doesn’t like fans. The comments about cheap Dodgers, that was a lot of money back then, hell Kershaw even told him don’t do it for the money.

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