The relationship between Justin Turner and Dodgers could never have ended

In Justin Turner’s fairy tale, the clock still hasn’t struck.

The story of the twice-discarded nutsman who achieved unexpected fame with his hometown team couldn’t end now, not like this, so the 36-year-old third baseman and defending World Series champions agreed to renew a relationship that symbolized for the revival of one of baseball’s signature franchises.

For at least two more seasons, the pumpkin remains a carriage, the mice remain horses, and the rags remain a jeweled gown.

Turner remains a Dodger.

The deal made too much sense for either side not to come through.

Turner, who grew up in Lakewood, stays at home and plays what will likely be the rest of his career for fans who love him. Known for constantly turning their roster around, the Dodgers keep one of their most identifiable and reliable players.

Turner has hit .302 with 116 home runs and 406 runs batted in over his seven seasons with the Dodgers, but his worth goes beyond the numbers.

He’s a leader the Dodgers lacked for a generation, maybe two, and his voice transcends the cultural and generational boundaries that typically divide teams into cliques. His presence could be particularly valuable this year as the Dodgers introduce into their clubhouse a potentially, if not likely, annoying to Trevor Bauer. In his introductory press conference, Bauer Turner named one of the players who spoke to him about the organization.

The $ 34 million two-year contract, which is pending physical contract, is shorter than what Turner was looking for in the open market.

While the Dodgers won’t budge over the years, they’ll pay him an average of $ 17 million a year, which is $ 1 million more than his previous four-year deal.

Turner’s salary elevates the Dodgers to a realm of the luxury tax bracket, which will lead to their top pick in the next draft dropping 10 positions.

Does not matter.

Turner is worth it.

He also deserved better than to end his days with the Dodgers in controversy.

He had to be removed from the deciding sixth game of the World Series for the eighth inning due to a positive COVID-19 test. He was quarantined for the remainder of the game, but reappeared after the Dodgers won the championship.

His party on the field, especially in the company of cancer survivor Dave Roberts, made him the reluctant subject of a national story. Major League Baseball launched an investigation that found Turner had chosen to ignore protocols.

Turner later apologized.

Regardless of how other parts of the country viewed the incident, Turner remained a hero in Los Angeles.

Here, the question of whether he would return this winter eclipsed every other Dodgers storyline, including the opportunity to land Bauer, the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner.

Rightly so.

The Dodgers honor military veterans at every home game. Turner is always on edge in the dugout, waiting to shake their hands and hand them autographed baseballs.

His foundation has benefited everyone from the homeless to cancer-stricken children to paralyzed veterans. He also supports the charities of his teammates.

On the field, he didn’t just hit, he hit when it counted.

Between last year’s Dodgers’ World Series and their previous championship in 1988, this city went through 32 years without a championship. Pitchers destroy themselves. Hitters stopped hitting.

The only consistent exception was Turner, who came to the Dodgers not as an expensive free agent, but as a player on a minor league contract that was not broadcast by the New York Mets.

This hardworking town shared its story of its humble beginnings and enjoyed its down-to-earth manner.

And when the day comes when fans return to Dodger Stadium, they will be able to do what they couldn’t do when the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out the team’s champion parade.

They will be able to stand and cheer him on, not as a visiting player, but as a Dodger.

In a town that has a good story when it sees one, Turner’s will have a happy ending.