Dalton Rushing does not appear to be in MLB to make friends.
It’s not often you see the backup catcher of the defending champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers in this case, take up the resident villain role. However, Rushing seems to have antagonized an opponent in three straight series.
On Saturday, it was the Chicago Cubs. The incident in question came in the third inning with Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner at bat, when a pitch in the dirt from Roki Sasaki allowed Cubs backup catcher Miguel Amaya to take second base.
In the aftermath of Amaya beating Rushing’s throw to second, the cameras caught Rushing saying… something that led to a surprised reaction from Hoerner. Some lip-readers at home interpreted Rushing as calling Amaya a “fat f***.”
The Dodgers won that game 12-4.
All of that hung in the air until Tuesday, when Hoerner went on the Spiegel & Holmes Show and confirmed that Rushing indeed called Amaya a “fat f***.”
His reaction:
“I wish that I had confronted him a little more directly, to be honest. I was pretty taken aback and in the middle of my at-bat. It was just kind of a strange thing to experience. So yeah, I felt a little weird about that.”
I’m not saying I should have like tackled the guy or anything. But yeah, just a little taken aback. Just at the end of the day, you just want to have your teammates’ backs.”
Not that any of this is important, but we’re just going to note Rushing is listed at 6-foot, 220 pounds while Amaya is listed at 6-foot-1, 230 pounds.
For those keeping score at home, here’s what has happened with Rushing in the Dodgers’ previous two series:
All of this occurred in the span of a week.
Who is Dalton Rushing?
Dalton Rushing has had a successful April, with some incidents along the way.
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Rushing was the Dodgers’ first player taken in the 2022 MLB Draft, with the 40th overall pick in the second round. He was soon making top-100 prospect lists and would have likely gotten run as a starting catcher a couple years ago in most organizations.
However, Rushing is a member of the Dodgers, who have one of the best catchers in the sport in Will Smith. So Rushing has only worked as a backup catcher since his MLB debut in May 2025.
He didn’t impress much last season, slashing only .204/.258/.324 with 4 homers and 58 strikeouts in 155 plate appearances, with only one trip to the plate in the 2025 playoffs. This season has been different however, as he’s posted a .348/.423/.848 line with seven homers — second on the Dodgers — in only 52 plate appearances.
That success has seen Rushing get more playing time recently, with starts at catcher in five of the Dodgers’ last 11 games. He’s also been the designated hitter in the two games Shohei Ohtani has operated as a pitcher only, meaning the team likes his bat the most off the bench.
Obviously, we’re a long way from confirming Rushing as a star in the making after a good April, but he is certainly getting his name out there.
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