Perhaps you find yourself wondering if former Milwaukee Brewers closer Derrick Turnbow has any relationship to the game Dungeons and Dragons.
Fans of Netflix sensation “Stranger Things” have gravitated toward a new character with a familiar name ― for Milwaukee sports fans, anyway ― as they watched the Season 5 episodes that landed on the service Nov. 26.
Foul-mouthed bully Derek Turnbow, played by newcomer actor Jake Connelly, becomes an unlikely hero during season 5 episodes. It’s the first major screen credit for the actor born in 2012, four years after Brewers all-star closer Turnbow finished his career.
The season of “Stranger Things,” which includes an episode title “The Turnbow Trap,” is set in November 1987, so theoretically the character is roughly the same age as the Brewers’ Turnbow (born in 1978), although they have different first-name spellings. Milwaukee’s Derrick was born in Tennessee, presumably quite a ways from fictional Hawkins, Indiana.
The real-life Derrick became a fan favorite in Milwaukee, emerging out of nowhere in 2005 to post a 1.74 ERA in 69 games, with 39 saves. That led into an all-star appearance in 2006 and a bobblehead giveaway, but things deteriorated quickly thereafter. He finished 2006 with a 6.87 ERA and 4.63 mark in 2007. After just eight games in 2008, he was done in Major League Baseball.
His career 65 saves are ranked ninth in franchise history.
Though series creator The Duffer Brothers aren’t above integrating a personal connection into their art — they even cast their high-school drama teacher this season — there isn’t any documentation suggesting the name chosen for the Turnbow character is anything more than coincidence.
He did make his debut in 2000 with the Los Angeles Angels, though the Duffer Brothers (natives of North Carolina) were a decade away from making a mark in Hollywood.
