Dalton Rushing’s Shohei Ohtani interaction demands real Dodgers response

By now, every single Los Angeles Dodgers fan has probably seen the back and forth interaction between Shohei Ohtani and Dalton Rushing from Wednesday's game against the Minnesota Twins.

During the top of the second inning of Wednesday's game — with Ohtani on the mound and Rushing behind the plate — the Dodgers teammates had multiple mixups, but the one that's gaining the most attention centered around an ABS challenge.

A passed ball on a cross up between Ohtani and Rushing earlier in the inning allowed the Twins to tie the score and prompted a mound visit. The next batter for Minnesota was Ryan Kreidler who worked a 1-1 count before Ohtani delivered a pitch that has since turned into a viral moment across social media.

Ohtani's 1-1 offering appeared to just clip the bottom of the strike zone. The umpire, however, called it a ball. Ohtani tapped his head to ask for an ABS challenge, but Rushing's reaction behind the dish appeared to suggest that he vehemently disagreed with his battery mate.

As it turns out, Ohtani was correct. Kreidler, however, later pushed a two-RBI single up the middle to give the Twins a 3-1 lead. Thankfully, the Dodgers were able to put up three runs of their own during the the following inning, and won by the final score of 4-3.

Dodgers can't allow Dalton Rushing to upstage Shohei Ohtani

Let's go back to this interaction between Ohtani and Rushing for a moment, shall we? First, there was the passed ball that allowed the runner from third base to cross home plate. Rushing's reaction was one of frustration and confusion, but it was directed at his pitcher, not himself.

Then there's now infamous dispute between Rushing and Ohtani when the Dodgers' two-way superstar requested an ABS challenge. Rushing's reaction was that of a five-year-old who's dad just told him he has five more minutes to watch Bluey (or whatever cartoon is popular with kids nowadays).

Rushing can be overheard screaming at his pitcher and motioning toward Ohtani that the pitch was low. This isn't just some yahoo off the street that Andrew Friedman signed to a minor-league deal or some young upstart making his second career start in the big leagues. This is Shohei freakin' Ohtani, dude. Show some respect. He's not only your teammate — he's the best player on the planet.

After this altercation Dodgers fans got to see an interaction between Rushing and Freddie Freeman in the dugout. Later on, manager Dave Roberts and the Dodgers “mental skills coach” (whatever fanciful job that is) can be obsersved giving Rushing some advice.

But talk is cheap, and it's time for action. While the Dodgers' current injury situation — with Will Smith nursing a stiff neck — has LA's roster rather thin at the catching position, the team cannot allow Rushing to keep occupying a spot in the starting lineup.

If Smith were healthy, I'd suggest Rushing needs a trip back to the minor leagues, but the Dodgers' current predicament doesn't allow for such rash action; though maybe it should.

If this was the first time all season that Rushing had a blowup like this, it could be ignored and swept under the rug. But this is pattern of bad behavior, and frankly he's disrespecting — not only his teammates — but the game itself.

It's time for somebody to straighten Rushing out, and sometimes the bench can be the most powerful motivator. If that doesn't work? He should be shipped out by the trade deadline because his behavior is not changing.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow