Trea Turner vs. Trey Sermon: Who ya got?

Dec 6, 2022 - 9:04 PM

Now that the Phillies have agreed on a contract with Trea Turner, it felt natural to compare him to another Philadelphia athlete with an identical sounding (if not spelled) first name: Eagles running back Trey Sermon.

I’ll do a quick Dr. Jack style breakdown to determine which Tre(a/y) reigns supreme in Philly!

Size

Sermon is six feet tall, which is two inches shorter than Turner. However, Sermon outweighs Turner by 40 pounds, 215 to 185.

Edge: Sermon

Speed

Playing the running back position, Sermon is obviously blessed with great speed, although his combine 40 time was relatively slow at 4.61 seconds. However, he has a very first initial burst, meaning he doesn’t take long to reach top speed. Turner is regarded as one of the fastest players in baseball, and reportedly ran a 4.37 40 in college. A quick burst is nice and all, but a player needs to sustain that speed.

Edge: Turner

College

Sermon began his college career at Oklahoma before transferring to Ohio State for his senior year. Any time a big-name college player transfers, I get a little suspicious, especially when Ohio State is involved. On the other hand, Turner went to North Carolina State, and as far as I can tell, they never hurt anybody.

Edge: Turner

Rookie year performance

Despite being drafted in the third round, Sermon didn’t see the field much in his rookie season. He recorded just 167 rushing yards and one touchdown. Meanwhile, Turner was an instant hit with the Washington Nationals in 2016, finishing second in NL Rookie of the Year voting.

Edge: Turner

Accolades

Trea Turner has two All-Star appearances, two top-ten MVP finishes, a batting title, and a Silver Slugger Award to his credit. We’ll be generous and just say that Sermon’s list of awards and honors is somewhat shorter.

Edge: Turner

Cost to obtain

To get Turner to Philadelphia, the Phillies had to sign him to an eleven-year, $300 million deal. The Eagles just picked Sermon up on waivers for a minimal salary.

Edge: Sermon

Ability to slide

Maybe it isn’t good if a running back is good at sliding (DeMarco Murray anyone?) but if Sermon ever delivered a slide this pretty, I think we’d be okay with it:

Edge: Turner

Impact on 2023 team

Turner is expected to serve as the Phillies’ leadoff hitter in 2023 and the team expects him to play at or near an All-Star level. Considering he’s been inactive for most games this season; Sermon will face an uphill climb just to make the Eagles’ roster in 2023.

Edge: Turner

Final breakdown

It shouldn’t be a surprise that Turner won this relatively easily by a count of 5-2. It’s a tough break for the Eagle, but in a way, it’s a compliment to even be compared to a guy who is about to sign a $300 million contract.