The serious conversation is this. In 1983 George Brett had a homer disallowed because his pine tar was a quarter of an inch over the allowed limit. Even though the rules stated Brett should be called out, the call was appealed and the AL overturned the call, stating that Brett didn't break the "spirit of the rules".

This is what's happening here. Turner did not break the spirit of the rules and there seems to be a basically unanimous consensus among fans and players that this is the case. There is precedent for the letter of the rules not being followed and this is a perfect example of how the rule should be applied - not for technicality, but for egregiousness.