Dalton Rushing ruffled the feathers of the Colorado Rockies after insinuating something was amiss during Will Klein’s appearance last Saturday, and he followed that by drawing the ire of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ longtime rival.
That occurred during Monday’s game against the San Francisco Giants, when Rushing appeared to say “[expletive] ’em” as Jung Hoo Lee sat at home plate upon being thrown out to end the sixth inning. Television cameras captured Rushing looking back toward home plate and appearing to deliver the F-bomb, which quickly went viral on social media.
Rushing checked on Lee through Hyeseong Kim after the game and said he intended to also personally speak with him on Thursday. The young catcher also refuted that he said what many lip readers alleged, but otherwise declined to provide specifics.
What the Dodgers and Giants are saying
Despite Lee and Rushing seemingly moving past their play at the plate, Logan Webb felt it necessary to defend his teammate in the series finale. Webb threw an inside fastball that hit Rushing in his ribs. Then while running the bases, Rushing slid hard into Willy Adames on an attempt to break up a double play.
Dave Roberts
“It probably was,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts answered when asked if he believed Webb intentionally hit Rushing. “And for me, he said what he said. I don’t think he meant it too personally, but they see it, social media catches it. Webby is an old-school guy. He’s protecting his teammate, so I’ve got no problem with it.”
Adames didn’t appear to have much of a reaction to Rushing’s slide, but Webb did stare in his direction before walking off the field.
“I like that too. That’s baseball,” Roberts said of the slide. “They’re going to hit you. Webby’s got really good command. I get it. They’ll deny it, no problem. And I like the way he went in hard. That’s nothing against Adames. He went in hard and they turned a double play. I’ve got no problem.
“It’s good baseball. Good, hard-nosed baseball.”
Roberts went on to describe Rushing as having, “A youthful enthusiasm, there’s an edge to him, there’s a toughness. And a really good competitor.”
Logan Webb
Webb predictably did not admit to whether or not he intentionally hit Rushing, as doing so would guarantee a suspension. But he further feigned ignorance over what had transpired at the beginning of the series.
“What thing with Jung Hoo?” Webb initially asked, per NBC Sports Bay Area.
When details of Rushing’s apparent message for Lee was relayed to Webb he responded, “Oh, I didn’t even see that.”
Luis Arraez
Meanwhile, Luis Arraez got a view of the play from second base and made it clear where he stood on Rushing’s slide.
“The umpire said it’s a double play because he slid into Willy’s feet. For me, that’s not good. That’s not good baseball,” Arraez said. “It’s not clean baseball. … It’s dirty. For me, this is baseball.”
Dalton Rushing
Similar to Roberts, Rushing chose to largely downplay the matter and looked to move on from the entire incident, per Katie Woo and Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic.
“It’s baseball,” Rushing said. “It’s a little bit of old school, and it’s the way I play.”
“That’s the way I’m taught to run the bases,” he added. “It’s the same thing going first to third, whether the score is 6-0 or 2-1. It’s nothing against those guys. Hopefully the air is cleared, hopefully they got out what they wanted to. And I enjoy getting on base, so (it) doesn’t bother me.”
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