Dalton Rushing is our guest here in front of first pitch a camel back ranch Bob Garreton, a former catcher. Did you realize that Rushing?
Yeah, he shook my hand for the first time, and I could tell.
Right those meat hooks. Dalton, what's this spring been like for you? After the great season you had last year and you being recognized for it.
Yeah, it's good getting comfortable around these guys more and more every day, and that's I think that's the only goal really, is just how can I be as comfortable as possible with as many pictures as possible, as well as obviously just the guys that surround me in the stuff out.
You just have to remind yourself you don't have to try too hard. They know how good you are.
Yeah. I mean it's you can watch me in spring training and you can tell, oh, he's swinging hard. Yeah, I swing hard in spring training. It's it's like this every years. It's almost a good thing for me. It shows me where my wall's at, and it's like, all right, I can swing this hard now. All right, season comes around, Let everything chill out a little bit, and then I
get comfortable in the box. Yeah, it's still early. I don't pay too much about, obviously the numbers that you put up in spring, but yeah, like you said, I have been swinging pretty hard here as of recently.
Yeah, that's interesting. Not a lot of people would realize you're trying to give yourself a baseline.
Yeah, it helps me understand what I have to do in the box to impact the ball. I think my only goal in spring training is to see as many pitches as possible just from a comfort standpoint. It allows me to one work better at bats in season, and then two just be able to be as well round hitter as possible.
Under the radar news this spring was what Dave Roberts told us a couple of days ago, where the Dodgers don't plan on having you play left field anymore.
Yeah, it's like I said, it's whatever they want to do. They know I'm here, they know I'll do it. I do as they say, and whatever way I can find my way on this team, I'll do it. But yeah, as of recently, we've been kind of honing in on the catching side of things and just basically preparing me as much as possible to catch whenever that time comes.
I never had a chance to ask you this, But you've been a catcher and all of a sudden and you're asked to play left field. What was that like? Did you feel alone out there?
It was kind of all of a sudden, It wasn't. I wouldn't say alone. Obviously, like Dodgers, we have tons of great outfielders in this organization. So there were tons of guys that helped me out day in, day out last year. And I mean, I can never say that I'm thankful enough for those things, because it's different. You go from behind the plate every day to bounce out the left field. It's a different look, it's a different feel. But yeah, I found myself getting pretty comfortable out there
pretty quickly. But at the same time, like I said, whatever they want me to do, I'll figure it out and get it done.
You know, Dalton Rushing is our guest, humble and hungry, trying to make his way toward the major leagues. You're sitting next to a couple of catchers. Hunter Producca's right next to you, and Chris Oki, who's the most mature man in this clubhouse, is a few seats down.
Oh yeah, they're both great guys. Both great guys. We'll find out Monday what their game is on the links.
Okay, that's great. See it's a friendly competition.
Right, Yeah. Absolutely. You spend so much time with these guys in a clubhouse, it's it's tough to really get to know them outside. So it's, uh, it's good to go do things like that. Even being in the same profession, same position, everything, you just create a better bond together doing things like that.
As you hone your skills as a catcher. I've heard from some of the best that you have to be a servant to the picture. Are you do you embrace that?
Uh? Yeah, it's you're serving to them. But you also, like every every picture clicks a different way. Every picture has a different tick for the way that they perform, the way that they go out there and perform at their best. I guess essentially, so some guys it takes a little heart to heart conversation up there, and then other guys you just go up there, Hey, tap them on the button, so let's go, like, hey, figure it out. You know, you know what to do.