The camera has made a habit of following Dalton Rushing during his time on and off the field, at least in part because of his controversies this season. It has resulted in the capture of some emotional moments from the second-year catcher.
For his part, Rushing is working on managing his emotions better. What matters the most at the moment to Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is that Rushing makes a habit of collecting himself after venting his frustrations.
“He does a good job — and it might not show it — that after he vents, he does a good job of collecting himself to get back into the next play, the next at-bat, catching,” Roberts said.
“I think his growth needs to be the adjustments in-game, and they need to be sooner. That’s a lot of times with young players. Swinging at balls out of the strike zone because you want to do too much and not letting the game come to you. That’s not an emotional thing, that’s just trying to slow the game down.”
Rushing has performed well in his role as the backup catcher this season after not finding much success in his rookie year. He’s batting .252/.340/.481 with seven doubles and 22 RBI in 135 at-bats so far, and has been pressed into starting duty with Will Smith on the injured list.
Though, Rushing landed in concussion protocol during Monday’s game after taking a foul tip off the mask.
Rushing’s eight home runs are tied with Adley Rutschman of the Baltimore Orioles for fourth-most in the Majors among catchers.
Dalton Rushing concussion update
Rushing was replaced by Chuckie Robinson to start the bottom of the third inning in series opener at Target Field. He passed the initial concussion protocol test that night but was held out of action Tuesday while waiting for a second to be performed, which is necessary to ensure good health.
Roberts said after the Dodgers’ latest win that the hope, if not expectation, was for Rushing to return to the lineup for the series finale against the Twins. The Dodgers then will have an off day before their road trip continues with a matchup against the San Diego Padres.
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