After every USMNT exit in the World Cup, non-soccer fans love to make the flawed argument about the U.S. dominating if the nation’s best athletes from other sports all played soccer. Well, U.S. men’s national team goalkeeper Matt Turner undercut that argument in his own way on Tuesday.
And he had the St. Louis Cardinals impressed in the process.
Turner was invited to Busch Stadium to take some batting practice ahead of the USMNT’s Gold Cup match at CITYPARK, and the Arsenal goalkeeper put on an absolute show. Stepping into the box right after star third baseman Nolan Arenado, Turner proceeded to hit four home runs with a sweet lefty swing.
Crushing dingers with Nolan Arenado and the @Cardinals ⚾️ https://t.co/N9rgvrvWqU pic.twitter.com/l3DHmeFgeM
— U.S. Men's National Soccer Team (@USMNT) June 27, 2023
The best part had to be seeing the reactions from Arenado, Cardinals manager Oli Marmol and GM John Mozeliak. They genuinely had to pause and think, “Maybe we should sign this guy?”
Now, Turner had the most unconventional rise to the Premier League and USMNT. He didn’t start playing soccer until he was 14, played college soccer at Fairfield and even spent time in the fourth tier of American soccer (yes, it goes down that far). But before that, he did play baseball, and professional athletes have regularly shown to be gifted at other sports.
All those hitting lessons 10 years ago finally paid off 😂
Thank you for everything @Cardinals ❤️ https://t.co/ZyYHO0hKhp
— Matt Turner (@headdturnerr) June 28, 2023
Still, four home runs at a big-league ballpark with a future Hall of Famer watching? That was truly impressive.
Fans also enjoyed seeing that hitting display from Turner.
This was how Twitter reacted
Matt Turner is the most American soccer player of all time. https://t.co/4Z9NUpXaG5
— Felipe Cárdenas (@FelipeCar) June 27, 2023
For all those “could athletes from other sports beat an ultimate team” people, here’s the USMNT goalie crushing four consecutive dingers out of a major league ballpark.
Marcus Smart would be the greatest ultimate player ever in a week.
Elite athletes are built different. https://t.co/IrXc8fuT2V
— Rick Liebling (@RickLiebling) June 28, 2023
You are not the same as a professional athlete, example number infinity. https://t.co/Q98v1KbTtP
— The Short Fuse (@TheShortFuse) June 27, 2023
We all like to poke fun at the “what if our best athletes…” trope but the point I’ve made a few times is that we’ve seen that come to fruition over the past 15 years. https://t.co/Q3FUVUHVzd
— Matthew Doyle (@MattDoyle76) June 27, 2023
TIL Matt Turner would be a top-3 hitter if he was on the Oakland Athletics https://t.co/5I3n8Jue5r
— Revolution Recap (@RevolutionRecap) June 28, 2023
Do you want to know the terrifying truth about USMNT rehiring Gregg Berhalter… https://t.co/ajO9LahKUJ pic.twitter.com/OQaw8mJRhh
— J.C. Bradbury (@jc_bradbury) June 27, 2023
This is genuinely insane. Matt Turner is a hell of an athlete https://t.co/669Ttr7B4W
— Nick (@hia_Nick) June 28, 2023
Hitting seeds out of the park lefty? So sick. https://t.co/pAbNhxzUyV
— Andrew Wiebe (@andrew_wiebe) June 28, 2023
Is there anything that Matt Turner is not great at? https://t.co/q26SjSAnf7
— Michele Giannone (@MicheleG3) June 28, 2023
Twas even more impressive up close. The reaction of the @Cardinals players was priceless. https://t.co/8UTXULozEZ
— Michael Kammarman (@kammarmanMNT) June 28, 2023
The most impressive thing here is one of if not the most decorated 3B of this generation is standing right outside the cage while Turner takes his hacks. Pretty cool. https://t.co/zBK5UrDJGH
— Pat Brennan (@PBrennanENQ) June 27, 2023
Matt Turner is an incredible athlete. How many goalkeepers can go out and hit home runs on a big league ball field? https://t.co/sl6oxv61cV
— Cole Douglas Claybourn (@ColeClaybourn) June 28, 2023
Sign him up, Cardinals.
