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Dodgers' Justin Turner: Not Celebrating World Series with Team Was a 'Big Void'
April 9, 2021
Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner wasn't able to celebrate the final out of the 2020 World Series with his teammates after testing positive for COVID-19, a moment he referred to Friday as a "big void."
"As happy and excited as I was when Julio [Urias] got the last out, it felt like I was sitting there watching—for the third time in my career—a team getting to celebrate a World Series," Turner said, per Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times.
The Dodgers had suffered World Series losses in 2017 and 2018 before finally coming through with a title in 2020.
Turner was taken out of the lineup in the middle of the decisive Game 6 against the Tampa Bay Rays after positive results returned from a COVID-19 test. He later returned to the field after the game for the celebration and was seen without a mask.
Turner said he watched the final two innings of the game from the doctor's office in the clubhouse alongside his wife, Kourtney, who was also removed from the family section of the stadium.
The 36-year-old re-signed with the team this offseason on a two-year, $34 million deal. On Friday, he and the rest of the Dodgers will receive their championship rings.
While Turner is looking forward to the upcoming ceremony, it won't make up for what was lost.
"This will be very special, something I enjoy, but I don’t think it will take the place of that moment of the last out and getting to celebrate on the field with my teammates," he said.