WATCH: Trea Turner trolls Max Scherzer with ABS Challenge, calls for review on obvious first-pitch strike

Trea Turner knew that Max Scherzer is not a fan of robot umpires. Just last week, Scherzer questioned the new ABC challenge system, questioning why MLB pitchers can no longer be judged by humans.

Turner clearly caught wind of Scherzer’s comments, and made sure to let the Blue Jays’ pitcher know he was listening when the Phillies faced Toronto during Spring Training.

In an obvious move to simply mess with Max Scherzer, Trea Turner, slotted in the leadoff spot for the Phillies, stepped up to the plate and requested a challenge on the very first pitch of the game.

The pitch was an obvious strike, and before the baseball even reached the catcher’s mitt, Turner was already tapping his head to challenge the call.

Trea Turner requests a challenge on Max Scherzer’s first pitch of the game:

Trea Turner fucking with Max Scherzer. look at the grin. pic.twitter.com/1iMtdU3yhd

— Absolutely Hammered (@ah_pod) March 2, 2025

Again, this wasn’t because Turner thought the pitch was actually a ball. He was clearly just messing with Scherzer, and the grin plastered on his face was a clear indication of that.

Trea Turner grinning at Max Scherzer after challenging first pitch of the game

That is the face of a man who knows exactly what he’s doing.

Turner told Jayson Stark and Matt Gelb at The Athletic that the idea put together by himself and Bryson Stott:

“Were you trolling Max?” he was asked.

“Yes, of course I was,” he said.

And when did he decide he was doing this?

“When I was stretching,” Turner replied. “I was hoping the pitch would be right down the middle.”

He then admitted he had co-conspirators in this caper — most prominently his double-play partner, Phillies second baseman Bryson Stott, who said: “You won’t challenge the first pitch of the game.”

“And I said, ‘That’s a great idea,’” Turner said. “Then nobody believed that I was going to do it. So I said, ‘Why not? I don’t care.’”

Scherzer is standing on the mound, waiting for confirmation on what he already knew—that was a strike. The most surprising part of this entire ordeal was that Max Scherzer, typically a grumpy old man these days on the mound, actually cracked a smile after Turner’s challenge.

Rare smile from Max Scherzer after Trea Turner’s challenge:

It’s pretty rare to see someone troll Max Scherzer. This is a guy who doesn’t even let his own teammates talk to him on days he pitches. He’s about as serious as it gets on the mound.

Trea Turner can get away with it.

These guys go way back—Nationals teammates, World Series champs, battle-tested together. So if anyone was going to poke the bear and live to tell the tale, it was Turner.

This is the type of behavior that I want from the Phillies’ leadoff hitter in 2025. If Trea Turner is taking over for Kyle Schwarber in the leadoff spot this year, then let’s make sure he’s going to be an absolute menace to society while doing it, ya know?

Sure, Spring Training is meaningless and I highly doubt this would have happened during the regular season. At the very least, moments like this makes February baseball down in Florida a little more interesting.

Two dudes messing around, a rare Scherzer smile, and a friendly reminder that the ABS system isn’t just about calling balls and strikes—it’s also a new way for guys to mess with their old teammates.

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