Well before Dalton Rushing took over starting duties behind the plate because of Will Smith’s neck injury, he was making headlines for reasons beyond emerging as a key contributor for the Los Angeles Dodgers this year.
Rushing’s fiery personality and competitiveness are traits manager Dave Roberts and teammates have embraced. And while there have been some mishaps along the way, the Dodgers are mindful of not giving Rushing the impression he has to fully change.
But what’s come of his actions are widespread criticism across social media and regular appearances on the famed Jomboy Media account for breakdowns of Rushing’s transgressions and attempted lip reading.
Dalton Rushing responds to Jomboy
Another door for scrutiny opened on Monday night when Rushing briefly exchanged words with Cole Carrigg. During a subsequent appearance on the “Petros and Money” show on AM 570 L.A. Sports radio, Rushing took a jab at Jomboy but noted he otherwise is not consumed by off-the-field-matters.
“I mean, I’m off social media now. I don’t really care to see it,” he told Matt “Money” Smith and Petros Papadakis. “I know Jomboy has made some money off of me. I’ll throw that out there. He gets a kick out of it, for sure, but in all honesty he’s the least of my worries.
“I just want to go out there and play baseball and do whatever I have to do to win.”
Rushing’s first brush with controversy this season came when he implied nefarious activity by Colorado Rockies. Days later Rushing was accused of saying an expletive toward Jung Hoo Lee after a play at the plate.
Logan Webb seemingly felt it necessary to defend his teammate and hit Rushing with a pitch two days later. Then while running the bases, Rushing had an awkward slide into second base that Roberts and some on the San Francisco Giants roster believed was dirty.
Only two more days passed before Rushing again was involved in another incident as he appeared to saying something disparaging about the Chicago Cubs’ Miguel Amaya. But easily the one that drew the most attention was when Rushing and Shohei Ohtani were not on the same page against the Minnesota Twins.
There was a cross-up that resulted in a passed ball that allowed a run to score, and multiple times where Ohtani wanted Rushing to initiate an ABS challenge. Rushing demonstratively shook his head no when Ohtani challenged a pitch, and it led to conversations with Roberts and teammates.
Rushing has expressed remorse throughout the aforementioned missteps, and especially so after his disagreements with Ohtani. He’s also shown a softer side by joining the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation for multiple events with local youth.
But the reality is Rushing is a lightning rod for social media, and any slip up is likely to spark more online discourse.
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