One of the great things about video games is that it allows for any fantasy - no matter how farfetched or even untenable in real life - to become possible. Which has meant trouble for one of the best shortstops in baseball and one of the biggest stars on the Washington Nationals.
On Tuesday night, Brooklyn Nets star and Washington D.C. native Kevin Durant was among those who reacted after a brilliant performance by Los Angeles Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani, who threw 88 pitches, struck out 10 batters, and then played in the outfield during a game against the Houston Astros. Durant called Ohtani a "different breed", and then shared that he was trading for him in the MLB: The Show video game - at the expense of Trea Turner, saying Turner "might have to dip."
On Wednesday, Turner seemed bewildered by the transaction on Durant's virtual Nationals team, and was puzzled as to what his fate was on Durant's virtual squad.
Still don’t know if I’ve been benched or traded?? 😐 https://t.co/8YjG279eJL
— Trea Turner (@treavturner) May 12, 2021
Durant's becoming enamored with Ohtani for his MLB: The Show team is somewhat odd, as Turner is among the best players the Nationals have. After leading the National League in stolen bases in 2018 and being a major part of the Nationals' first World Series title in 2019, Turner finished seventh in voting for the NL MVP Award in 2020. A month into the 2021 season, Turner currently has a .323 batting average with eight home runs and currently leads the league in stolen bases (seven).
There's also good reason for Durant to have an affinity for Turner: The 11-time NBA All-Star is a native of Washington D.C. and a Nationals fan, as evidenced by the tattoo of the Nationals' logo he has.
Ohtani, meanwhile, has starred for the Angels since being named AL Rookie of the Year in 2018. Prior to his move to MLB, Ohtani was a five-time All-Star for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of the NPB in Japan.
