Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing held himself accountable for being out of sync with Shohei Ohtani during a game June 24.
Ohtani and Rushing repeatedly disagreed on their approach during the Dodgers' 4-3 win over the Minnesota Twins. At one point, Ohtani challenged a pitch for Rushing, which the catcher called "embarrassing."
"Look, he's the greatest player to play this game," Rushing said Sunday of Ohtani, according to Jack Harris of the California Post. "And he has every right to, one, call whatever he would like, and two, just attack the way that he wants to on the mound. Because no one on this earth can tell him that he doesn't know what he's doing out there.
"So we're gonna move forward from it. I've talked to him a lot. Never in a million years could you ever have a bad thing to say about a guy like that. Never in a million years could you ever feel like a player like that is in the wrong. So it's kind of up to me, as a young guy, to wear the situation, wear it on my chest, get over it, move past it, and make sure that we allow a guy like that to do what he wants to do."
With starting catcher Will Smith sidelined, Rushing caught Ohtani for just the third time this season Wednesday against the Twins. The pair didn't appear to be on the same page from the get-go. In the first inning, Rushing didn't challenge a called ball when Ohtani suggested he do so. An especially chaotic second inning featured a cross-up with the bases loaded that allowed a run to score.
Ohtani admitted feeling "hesitation" about the pitches Rushing was calling early in the outing. He later took over calling his own pitches.
"You could tell both guys were frustrated trying to get on the same page," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.
Roberts expects Rushing to catch Ohtani in his next start, and he doesn't think similar issues will recur after the pair talked things out during the week.
"Whether I'm right, whether he's right, whether we're both wrong, whether we're both right, it doesn't really matter," Rushing said. “It’s my job, whether I'm 25 years old or 35 years old, to say, 'Look, I'm wearing this, this is my fault. I need to move forward. I need to grow from this.' And I need to make sure we bring good out of this."
