Dodgers Dalton Rushing trying to change bad dude rap: Dont want to create an image like that
ST.LOUIS — You won’t find anyone with the Dodgers who thinks Dalton Rushing is a bad guy.But that doesn’t mean the second-year slugger wants to be saddled publicly with a bad rap.Throughout his career, Rushing has always tried to play with a smoldering competitive fire.
He has never shied away from the fact he carries a competitive edge.“I played football half my life,” the Dodgers’ backup catcher said.“So I compete a little differently, I click a little differently.”Lately, however, a string of heated in-game interactions that have gone viral on social media — and, in one instance, drawn public criticism from an opposing player — have forced the 25-year-old to take a step back and make a renewed effort to keep his emotions in check.“You never want to be viewed as a guy like that from opposing teams,” Rushing told The California Post on Saturday.
“You want guys to hate playing against you because of the player that you are and how great you are on a baseball field.Not because of the verbalized things you say.”Already this season, Rushing had been in the middle of several different headline-grabbing situations; from saying the Rockies were making “fishy” swing decisions during a series in Denver, to catching flak for an F-bomb he appeared to direct (though later said was misinterpreted) at Giants outfielder Jung Hoo Lee after a collision at the plate.Then came last weekend’s series against the Cubs, when Rushing was captured dropping another seemingly disparaging expletive in reference to Cubs catcher Miguel Amaya.This time, it wasn’t only lip-reading internet sleuths who called Rushing out but also Cubs veteran Nico Hoerner, who was standing in the box when Rushing made his alleged “fat f–k” comment as Amaya advanced to second base on a wild pitch last Saturday.“I wish that I had confronted him a little more directly, to be honest,” Hoerner said during a radio interview this week.
“It was just kind of a strange thin...