Joplin Outlaws outfielder Murchael Turner leads the Mid-America League in hitting with a .412 average.
Turner also is tied for the most stolen bases in the league at 16, but it is off the field that he may have the biggest impact in the future.
Turner, of Mableton, Georgia, who has a 4.0 grade-point average in prenursing at Florida’s Barry University, said he hopes to follow in his mother’s footsteps and pursue a career in public health.
Turner’s mom, Angela Blackwell, is a senior epidemiologist at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and has helped lead research in a number of areas for the CDC, including HIV, COVID-19, cancer, and a number of chronic and infectious diseases.
“She’s a hardworking lady,” Turner said of his mom. “She went to Xavier and got her undergrad degree, went to Tulane for her master’s and later on got her doctorate from Georgia Southern. I have a smart mom and give her all the credit. She has kept us on point with our grades.
“She taught us the importance of being levelheaded,” Turner said. “Don’t get frustrated, trust God and just stay levelheaded.”
After watching his mom work through the pandemic, Turner said that by his senior year of high school he decided to follow her career path.
“It almost made me not want to do it,” Turner said of his mom’s long hours during the pandemic. “She definitely had a lot of work on her plate during that time, but I wanted to follow through with it because I like what she does.”
Blackwell’s work ethic seems to have filtered down to Turner. Outlaws manager Dean Green said Turner’s success on the diamond is largely due to his strong work ethic.
“He comes in day in and day out with the right mental attitude, along with the physical attributes that go along with it,” Green said. “He’s got a lot of tools.”
Green has helped Turner evolve into the top hitter in the league.
“I knew that when I got him he was going to be a little bit raw and there were a lot of advancements that he could make,” Green said.
Green also offered high praise of Turner as an individual, not just as an athlete.
“He’s got a good head on his shoulders,” Green said. “My job as a coach right now is to lead him in the right direction, give him the blueprint and let him do the rest. He makes it easy.
“We get to work on a lot of advanced stuff so far as his approach at the plate,” Green said. “Stuff that I have picked up along the way I try to feed to him and let him use it where he can.”
Green talked about watching Turner progress as a player.
“So far it’s been a blast to watch out here because he’s soaking it (up) and doing what we are talking about,” Green said, “He’s becoming a professional hitter through and through.”
Turner talked about some of the hitting advice he has picked up from Green.
“Hunt for your pitch,” Turner said. “You don’t have to swing at everything in the zone. Make sure you get your pitch and don’t swing at a pitcher’s pitch. You can take a strike here and there, just get your pitch to swing at and hit it hard.”
He said his success on the basepaths also has a lot to do with Green.
“He’s pretty good about knowing when to give us the steal sign and when not to give it to us,” Turner said.
Turner ended up on the Outlaws roster mainly because of Green, who was a consensus first-team All-American for the Division II Barry University Buccaneers in Miami Shores, Florida, and an 11th-round draft pick of the Detroit Tigers.
“His picture is all over the school,” Turner said of Green. “He graduated from there and got drafted from there, and that’s a big reason why I came out here.”
While a freshman in high school, Turner was also part of the Woodward Academy High School wrestling team that captured the Georgia Class 4A title. Turner later transferred to the Georgia Premier Academy for baseball and hit .512 his senior season.
As a freshman last year at Barry, Turner hit .342 for the Buccaneers.