Matt Turner apparently has a lot of pop behind those keeper mitts.
Turner, the starting goalkeeper for the U.S. men’s national soccer team, went viral this week for the batting practice session that he took with the St. Louis Cardinals. With the USMNT in St. Louis this week for a Concacaf Gold Cup match against St. Kitts and Nevis, Turner decided to pay a visit to Busch Stadium and get in a couple of swings with the Cardinals.
Stepping into the batter’s box after St. Louis slugger Nolan Arenado, Turner proceeded to hit not one, not two, not three, but FOUR home runs.
Here is the video.
Crushing dingers with Nolan Arenado and the @Cardinals ⚾️ https://t.co/N9rgvrvWqU pic.twitter.com/l3DHmeFgeM
— U.S. Soccer Men's National Team (@USMNT) June 27, 2023
The seven-time All-Star Arenado and other Cardinals figures were left nearly speechless by Turner’s display of raw power. Arenado even told Turner, “That’s the quickest celebrity hitting I’ve ever seen in my life.”
For Turner, who played baseball in high school, he is the No. 1 keeper for the USMNT. Though he didn’t start against St. Kitts and Nevis on Wednesday, Turner has been the team’s regular starter in both Concacaf Nations League and Gold Cup play recently. He was also in goal for all four of the USMNT’s matches at last year’s World Cup (keeping multiple clean sheets). At the club level, Turner plays for top English Premier League club Arsenal as the No. 2 keeper behind the phenomenal Aaron Ramsdale.
There is definitely something in the air these days when it comes to stars in other sports hitting the batting cages. Turner’s sweet swing comes not long after a big name in the other kind of football strutted his stuff in BP as well.
