Dalton Rushing initially headlines for his impressive start to the season but those gave way more recently to being part of viral incidents with Los Angeles Dodgers opponents and an umpire.
First was Rushing implying nefarious activity by the Colorado Rockies, then he appeared to say “[expletive] ’em” in the direction of Jung Hoo Lee after a play at home plate. That prompted San Francisco Giants’ Logan Webb to seemingly retaliate by hitting Rushing with a pitch, and it was followed by a hard slide into second base.
In the next series, Rushing appeared to call “fat [expletive]” after he successfully stole second base. Days later, Rushing became irate with home-plate umpire Clint Vondrak upon striking out via pitch clock violation amid a misunderstanding over a request for time.
Miguel Amaya warns Dalton Rushing
In response to the incidents with Lee and Amaya, Rushing made an effort to clear the air. Hyeseong Kim helped facilitate that with Lee, and Rushing contacted Nico Hoerner through their shared agent after the infielder said he regretted not confronting the Dodgers’ second-year catcher.
The disparaging message, which Rushing did not confirm to have said, didn’t overly upset Amaya. But according to Fabian Ardaya and Katie Woo of The Athletic, Amaya made it clear action would be taken if Rushing continued to be involved in mishaps.
Amaya said this week that Rushing’s actions were “nothing that bothers me.”
“But if stuff like this keeps going and continues, wherever we face each other again, and if he keeps saying stuff, we’ve got to put a stop to it,” Amaya continued.
The 25-year-old expressed regret over recent transgressions and said he wants to draw attention for how he performs and not viral moments.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and some veteran teammates spoke with Rushing about his behavior. Though, it was from the standpoint of offering advice and guidance on how to best channel his fiery demeanor, rather than attempting to fully restrain him.
As for potential retribution by Amaya or the Cubs, the Dodgers are scheduled to visit Wrigley Field for a three-game series that begins Monday, Aug. 3. Given more than three months will have passed, the assumption is cooler heads will prevail and Rushing won’t necessarily be targeted by the Cubs for retribution.
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