Those famous standing ovations for Trea Turner energized him — and fired up the Phillies as well

The Phillies this season won 90 games for the first time in 12 years, and now, after their wild-card sweep, they’ve won 92. After a 25-32 start they’ve gone 67-40 since June 3, when they began a six-game winning streak. What else happened right about that time? Injured first baseman Rhys Hoskins, the unquestioned team leader, returned to the team to complete his rehab.

But no, that wasn’t the watershed moment for the ballclub. Not according to veteran catcher J.T. Realmuto, former fan target Alec Bohm, fan favorite Kyle Schwarber, manager Rob Thomson, or, of course, the free-spending club’s newest big-name addition, Trea Turner.

» READ MORE: Trea Turner thanked a WIP producer for turning his season around and pushing the Phillies into October

It was the ovation heard ‘round the world, a standing-O in support of Turner who’d been a $300 million flop and who, on Aug. 4, was hitting .235 with a .657 OPS, and who had been dropped from second to eighth in the lineup, and whose soft hands and strong arm had turned to stone and spaghetti.

In a bigger upset than Eagles-over-Patriots, the ovation was delivered by what is supposed to be the worst fan base in the country. It was conceived and promoted by what is supposed to be the most toxic sports-talk station on the planet.

Whatever.

As expected, the ovation helped Turner, who hit .338 with a 1.057 OPS in his final 48 games.

It was less expected that it also helped everybody else.

» READ MORE: Bryson Stott and Aaron Nola lead the Phillies to inevitable NLDS battle with the Braves

When I asked Thomson what moment pushed the Phillies into the playoffs, he didn’t mention that six-game winning streak or unlikely All-Stars Nick Castellanos and Craig Kimbrel or Bryce Harper’s record return to play after Tommy John surgery.

“It was when Trea got the standing ovation,” Thomson said. “There’s no question in my mind. It’s a team that is very supportive of each other. They are really together. They care about each other.”

The team was feeling the pressure in early August. Big hitters weren’t hitting, three key pitchers were fighting injuries, and the dog days were wearing everybody out, no one more so than Turner, Thomson said.

“When that happened, Trea was able to breathe a little bit,” Thomson said. “Consequently, the rest of the team was able to breathe a little bit. They wanted him to do well.”

“We have a really good dynamic in our clubhouse,” explained Bryce Harper. “We don’t care where you’re from, who you are, how old, what you’re doing, or anything like that. You’re here to help us win. You’re part of our family.”

They wanted to help their new brother, but they didn’t know how.

The clubhouse camaraderie that propelled the Phillies to the pennant last season wasn’t enough to help Turner relax. A superhuman effort at the World Baseball Classic during spring training whetted Phillies fans’ appetites for their newest big-money free agent, but he didn’t deliver. Turner finished a fourth month of futility for the Phillies with a seven-game road trip, on which he went 3-for-29 and botched plays he normally made at shortstop, including a late failure that helped the Marlins win in extra innings on Aug. 2.

“I’m obviously the reason why we lost that game,” Turner said.

The Phillies won the following day, but Turner had become a Philly pariah. What to do?

Jack Fritz, a host and producer at 94-WIP, the team’s flagship station, fired off an 84-second video tweet, positing an idea that had been burbling around the station and among Fritz’s friends for days.

“It’s time to address the standing ovation that should happen for Trea Turner. … It can’t hurt. … It’s a good moment for the city. … Think about also what it (might do) for the rest of the team? … Sometimes, tough love is necessary. Sometimes, brotherly love is necessary. … Stand for Trea.”

So they did. Every at-bat. Turner knew what might happen. The rest of the team did not.

For the last 33 years, Thomson has served as a coach or manager for the Yankees and Phillies, who play in the two toughest sports towns in America. He never conceived that he might witness such an act of grace.

“I can’t believe it happened,” Thomson said. “I’ve got to admit, I got a little emotional.”

Kyle Schwarber has been a fan favorite in Boston and Chicago as well as Philly, and he was floored.

» READ MORE: Phillies ace Zack Wheeler rebounds from World Series fiasco with another historic performance

“It showed that this fan base didn’t just pick up one player, it picked up all 26 of us,” he said. “We’re going out there trying to win games. We’re not going out there trying to [stink]. When we saw that, them lifting him up, it lifted all of us up.”

Third baseman Alec Bohm nearly ruined his relationship with the fans when, last season, he was caught on camera telling a teammate “I hate this [bleeping] place.” Bohm was honest and contrite afterward, and he was forgiven, and he was moved by the way the crowd forgave Turner for his early atrociousness.

“It tells you what this city’s about,” Bohm said. “The gesture of welcoming him with open arms … maybe it did something. That was a night everybody rallied around each other.”

“It was a lot. None of us likes to see our teammate struggle. It’s tough for us to get booed, but it’s just as tough when one of them gets booed,” said catcher J.T. Realmuto. “It was a weight off the entire clubhouse. We all took a big breath, and off we went.”

Turner seems a little sheepish these days when discussing how the ovations affected him, but after the club swept the Marlins on Wednesday and advanced to the NLDS against Atlanta, he was delighted to discuss how the moment affected the whole team.

“Selfishly, I didn’t realize it affected everyone else in the clubhouse as much as it did. I was just appreciative for myself,” Turner told me. “Now, when I hear everyone talk about it, I realize it impacted everybody. When 26 guys and a coaching staff get picked up, that’s a big thing.”

Oddly, the ovations might have actually affected the rest of the team more than they affected Turner. He wasn’t exactly surprised, because his wife had told him before he left for the ballpark that something was brewing on social media.

“I think it really surprised them. I was a little prepared, and they weren’t,” Turner said. “That’s another dynamic to all of this.”

Turner responded that night with an RBI single, homered the next night, and was off.

So were the Phillies.

They’re 33-18 since the ovation, a .647 winning percentage, which is even better than their record since June 3. They’re 33-15 in meaningful games, because they got so hot that they wrapped up the top wild-card spot with five games to play.

They played like men who’d shed their load.

“That was the whole message,” Fritz said Thursday.

Fritz has become something of a celebrity himself. We told his story last week.

ESPN broadcasters mentioned Fritz by name during their Game 1 telecast.

It was a watershed moment … but, even in the moment, nobody could predict its magnitude. Today, nobody remembers that, on Aug. 4, the Phillies lost to the woeful Royals. Aaron Nola imploded. Yunior Marte blew a save. Turner only went 1-for-4.

All that matters, really, is that the Phillies are on track to get back to the World Series.

Imagine all of the ovations yet to come.