Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing has been a star so far in the 2026 season, though he’s certainly made his fair share of headlines with comments on and off the field.
On Sunday, Rushing drew heat again for what he appeared to say about his counterpart on the Chicago Cubs.
Rushing struggled to catch a Roki Sasaki pitch that hit the dirt just behind home plate, and Cubs catcher Miguel Amaya took off for second.
Rushing’s throw wasn’t in time, and after Amaya took the base, Rushing was caught on camera appearing to call Amaya a “fat f—.”
Dodgers fans worried about PCA yet Dalton Rushing is the biggest clown in MLB. Here he is calling Miguel Amaya a “fat f*ck” after he gets stolen on. Watch Nico afterwards pic.twitter.com/Iniojk3Hv7
Cubs teammate Nico Hoerner gave Rushing a look after the comment as well.
Rushing, who’s filled in for catcher Will Smith amid a back injury and to give the veteran a rest, previously was accused of intimating that the Colorado Rockies may have been cheating and appeared to say “f— ’em” when San Francisco Giant Jung Hoo Lee was hurt in a play at the plate.
The latter incident earned him a fastball to the ribs and prompted a hard slide into second base, though both Giants pitcher Logan Webb and Rushing downplayed the incident.
Speaking with Dodgers Nation’s Doug McKain, former Dodger and current SportsNet LA analyst Jerry Hairston defended Rushing’s hard slide and response to being plunked.
“First of all, Dalton did everything right,” Hairston said. “I don’t know why the Giants reacted in such a way when — allegedly — Dalton said something while he was heading towards the Dodgers dugout after the slide or the tag. Who cares? But they took offense to it, alright.”
Hairston added that he doesn’t believe Rushing was hit on purpose, but his hard slide into second was the appropriate response.
“Dalton Rushing, rightfully so, goes to second base as hard as possible. That’s baseball, man. I love it. I love that it was a hard slide. It was clean, it was hard and that’s just the nature of the beast. I don’t agree that they hit Dalton, but the way Dalton responded was class.
“He’s a baseball player, man. One thing I do know, if you think they’re going to ruffle Dalton a little bit and shake him up, they got another thing coming. This kid is a baller just like Will Smith. Now we have two hard-nosed catchers and you need that at the big-league level.”