A short documentary that the standing ovation who became the Phillies’ shortstop Trea Turner’s first season in Philadelphia wraps up coming to Netflix in October.
The streaming giant acquired the rights to “The Turnaround,” a short film produced by Philadelphia native Kyle Thrash and Oscar winner Ben Proudfoot. The short debuts on Netflix on October 18.
“The Turnaround” follows Jon McCann, a Phillies fan from the city’s Bridesburg neighborhood and a content creator known as “The Philly Captain” who helped spearhead of the standing ovation.
In a video posted to social media on August 3, McCann pleaded with his fellow Phillies fans to give Turner some “love-love.”
“Yo cuz, can you do me a favor? If you go to a Phillies game this weekend, let’s not boo Trea Turner. Let’s give him a standing ovation every time he steps up to bat this weekend. My boy is in his head,” McCann says in the video. “And he needs some love. Not tough love, not right now. He needs some love-love. So let’s love Trea Turner this weekend and give him a standing ovation every time my man steps up to bat.”
The next day, Jack Fritz, a producer for 94 WIP, took over and headed the sports talk radio station.
Turner was hitting .235 with a .657 OPS in his first 107 games in Philadelphia at the time, coming off a particularly bad run in Miami. And Phillies fans echoed McCann and Fritz’s pleas.
For every at-bat of the Phillies’ 7-5 loss to Kansas City on August 4, 2023, fans stood and supported their $300 million shortstopTurner went 1-for-4 in the game, but quickly turned his season around afterward.
Turner finished the 2023 season with a .337 batting average and an OPS of 1.057 in the final 48 games of the regular season.
A few days after the standing ovation, Turner thanked fans with billboards throughout the city.
“The Turnaround” was produced by Higher Ground, the media company founded by former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, in association with Breakwater Studios. The short film debuted at the Telluride Film Festival on September 1.
“Having grown up in the Philadelphia area and being a lifelong Phillies fan myself, I am in awe of how brilliantly Kyle and Ben have captured the heart and soul of the city,” Higher Ground President Vinnie Malhotra said in a press release. “With such a unique and rarely seen perspective on a story that will go down in history.”
Malhotra added that the film “delves deep into the emotional core of the mental health of both our beloved players and the legions of fans who work hard to support them every day.”
In a press release ahead of the Telluride Film Festival, Thrash and Proudfoot said McCann is “an American story for our times.”
“We all have a choice about how we approach the world around us and all its challenges. Do you boo? Or do you give all the love you can?” they said in the press release. “Jon’s response inspired us to make this film.”
