WEBVTT - Dalton Rushing (2-18-26)

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<v Speaker 1>And now an exclusive interview with David Bassey for Dodger Talker. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>don't be alarmed when you don't see Freddie Freeman or

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<v Speaker 1>Mookie Bets or Max Munsey and the Dodgers starting lineup

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<v Speaker 1>this weekend against the Angels and the Padres. Dave Roberts said,

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<v Speaker 1>there is no injury issues. We have seen those guys

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<v Speaker 1>out here going back to the beginning of the week

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<v Speaker 1>taking batting practice, participating in life batting practice as well,

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<v Speaker 1>but are going to slow play when they get into games.

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<v Speaker 1>These are veteran guys. Munsey is thirty five, Freddie Freeman

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<v Speaker 1>is thirty six, Mookie Bets is thirty two going on

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<v Speaker 1>thirty three. They have played back to back World Series Championships,

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<v Speaker 1>so no need to force these guys into lineups early

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<v Speaker 1>in spring, which means the Dodgers are going to give

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of their young players some opportunities to leave

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<v Speaker 1>an impression and in the case of Alton Rushing, get

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of reps behind Will Smith, who is going

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<v Speaker 1>to leave for the World Baseball Classic as part of

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<v Speaker 1>Team USA's team, but also get some time at first

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<v Speaker 1>base to give Freddie Freeman days off, and also early

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<v Speaker 1>on you know, get him off his feet and not

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<v Speaker 1>start into game. So Dalton Rushing is going to have

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<v Speaker 1>a runway to get a rhythm for his season, and

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<v Speaker 1>it feels like he has a better understanding of what

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<v Speaker 1>to expect and what is expected of him from the Dodgers.

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<v Speaker 1>Here's our conversation with the very gregarious Dalton Rushing Rush.

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<v Speaker 1>Great to see you, and man, you got a real legit,

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<v Speaker 1>big league locker, a guy that has made, the guy

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<v Speaker 1>that has arrived.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it's good to be here. Good to see you, David,

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<v Speaker 2>missed you. I don't like your nipples as much as Kik,

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<v Speaker 2>but it's good to see you and looking forward to

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<v Speaker 2>another World Series.

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<v Speaker 1>I wore a jacket. A fan came up to me

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<v Speaker 1>asked me about my nipples. I said, hey, I got

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<v Speaker 1>to cover up in the spring.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it's cold out here early in the morning, isn't it. David,

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<v Speaker 2>I like that la Weather.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh no, no, Hey, I could definitely feel the vibe

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<v Speaker 1>the energy from you. You are so excited to get

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<v Speaker 1>this season going. What's it like to have the faith,

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<v Speaker 1>the backup of the organization to believe in what you

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<v Speaker 1>can do for them this year?

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah? I think I think that's the difference. This year.

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<v Speaker 2>I got a feel of what the big moments kind

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<v Speaker 2>of feel like. There at the end of the year,

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<v Speaker 2>I had a couple of big moments, and being able

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<v Speaker 2>to know what it feels like in that moment is

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<v Speaker 2>kind of the reason you want to get back out there.

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<v Speaker 2>The grind of a full season, the ups, the downs.

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<v Speaker 2>Obviously you look back at last year was a lot

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<v Speaker 2>of things that I could look on a downside, But

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<v Speaker 2>I personally think that I learned a lot through those

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<v Speaker 2>tough times, wherever stretch it was in the year, And

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<v Speaker 2>I think that's what excites me this year is because

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<v Speaker 2>it's one thing throughout my whole career. It's if I

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<v Speaker 2>have a down, down month, whatever it is, I bounce

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<v Speaker 2>back really well.

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<v Speaker 1>It wasn't a normal year. I would imagine since high

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<v Speaker 1>school you've played every day, you've been the guy, knowing

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<v Speaker 1>the role, knowing how to prepare yourself for the role.

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<v Speaker 1>Do you feel like it has giving you a head

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<v Speaker 1>start coming into this season.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I think it's given me a head start. And

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<v Speaker 2>I think the other side of that is I'm going

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<v Speaker 2>to be able to show the production at an early time,

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<v Speaker 2>show what I can do the difference I can make

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<v Speaker 2>in the box, and then I think that you kind

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<v Speaker 2>of you push all your chips to the middle of

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<v Speaker 2>the table there. And I've said it in the past,

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<v Speaker 2>I don't care where I play, what my role is,

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<v Speaker 2>as long as I play baseball. And that's I think

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<v Speaker 2>that's what I'm most excited about this year is I

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<v Speaker 2>can really focus on, hey, how many games can this

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<v Speaker 2>team win? But also how many games can I get

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<v Speaker 2>on the field and help this team win.

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<v Speaker 1>What did you learn about when you do get those

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<v Speaker 1>opportunities after you know, backing up or getting a spot start,

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<v Speaker 1>what did you learn how to approach your at bats.

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<v Speaker 2>I've learned that situational hitting is your best friend, and

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<v Speaker 2>those those situations, learning how to control the baseball, know

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<v Speaker 2>where to hit the baseball and what situation, and that

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<v Speaker 2>produces runs for your team. And I think if we

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<v Speaker 2>can do that from a one to nine standpoint, it

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<v Speaker 2>doesn't matter if you're an everyday player or if you

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<v Speaker 2>play once a week, then we're gonna win a lot

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<v Speaker 2>of baseball games. So we're gonna have a lot of fun.

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<v Speaker 1>I know you're a catcher at heart, and obviously you

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<v Speaker 1>are a catcher on this ball club, but also we

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<v Speaker 1>talked about this first base maybe in your future to

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<v Speaker 1>get Freddie days off. I don't see a first basement's

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<v Speaker 1>glove in your locker.

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<v Speaker 2>There, it's in there. No, it's I've always wanted to

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<v Speaker 2>keep that in my back pocket, regardless of where I'm at.

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<v Speaker 2>And obviously, due to circumstances this year, if Freddie needs

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<v Speaker 2>a day halfway through the year, if Freddie needs a

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<v Speaker 2>day in the first month, whatever it is, I need

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<v Speaker 2>to be that guy that they can kind of lean

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<v Speaker 2>on to still have a left handed bat in the

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<v Speaker 2>lineup and give Freddie's time off.

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<v Speaker 1>So have you taken any ground balls and work with

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<v Speaker 1>some infielders there yet.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I've done some infield work. I try and just

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<v Speaker 2>kind of incorporated in the routine as much as possible,

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<v Speaker 2>so it kind of feels second nature and just like, hey,

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<v Speaker 2>give me the glove, I'll go play it. And I

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<v Speaker 2>actually had some a lot of experience in college there

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<v Speaker 2>and early on in pro ball, so I've I've kind

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<v Speaker 2>of got a little bit of a background in first base,

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<v Speaker 2>but obviously I want to excel and grow as much

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<v Speaker 2>as possible to be a guy like Freddie, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>it's pretty cool.

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<v Speaker 1>Dalton Rushing is our guest. He has arrived. He's going

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<v Speaker 1>to be a big part of the Dodgers three pete

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<v Speaker 1>attempt in twenty twenty six. All right, let's put the

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<v Speaker 1>catcher's gear back on. I've heard so much about Gavin

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<v Speaker 1>Stone and River Ryan. Have you had a chance to

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<v Speaker 1>catch any one of those guys so far?

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<v Speaker 2>Early on? Yeah, I've got to catch both. And man,

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<v Speaker 2>do we have a lot of pictures. It's not only

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<v Speaker 2>are a lot of pitchers. We have a lot of

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<v Speaker 2>pictures that can pitch for a really long time in

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<v Speaker 2>this game. And I think that's the beauty of what

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<v Speaker 2>this organization does. It builds it top to bottom, the

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<v Speaker 2>strongest organization in baseball, strongest organization in sports. And yeah,

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<v Speaker 2>they've both they've both looked fantastic. I mean, River explosive stuff,

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<v Speaker 2>he's disgusting, He's around the zone, he establishes the strike

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<v Speaker 2>zone early and it's it's almost everything you could ask

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<v Speaker 2>for out of a pitcher. And Gavin as well. I mean,

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<v Speaker 2>Gavin's got three plus pitches and the pitch ability is

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<v Speaker 2>really there. He knows how to control the baseball. He

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<v Speaker 2>knows how to control the game, And I think that's

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<v Speaker 2>what I'm most excited to work with between the two

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<v Speaker 2>of them, is their ability to know how to control

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<v Speaker 2>the baseball and really navigate through seven innings.

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<v Speaker 1>What's the difference for you catching bullpens for guys like

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<v Speaker 1>that that are coming back trying to prove that they

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<v Speaker 1>are back, compared to catching a bullpen for a glass

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<v Speaker 1>Now or a Yamamoto.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I think these some of these guys coming off injury,

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<v Speaker 2>it's our job to one like, really make sure that

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<v Speaker 2>one the throws clean, everything's coming out smooth. But at

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<v Speaker 2>the same time, we need to we need to incorporate

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<v Speaker 2>a little bit of the competitive edge. We need to

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<v Speaker 2>we need to get these guys filling like they're throwing

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<v Speaker 2>in the fifth, sixth, seventh inning of a game in

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<v Speaker 2>Dodger Stadium against Diamondbacks the padres Like. We have to

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<v Speaker 2>make them feel his game ready with all the nerves

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<v Speaker 2>and everything is possible before the season hits, because obviously

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<v Speaker 2>it's going to be a little bit of a different

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<v Speaker 2>fill with fifty thousand there.

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, speaking of edge, you got edge. You got a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of emotion when you play. Have you learned how

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<v Speaker 1>to play with that? And how to control it at

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<v Speaker 1>times when you need to.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I think. I think last year I learned quick

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<v Speaker 2>it's you control it as much as you can, but

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<v Speaker 2>you don't lose it. Some of the best players I've

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<v Speaker 2>ever watched, some of the best players that I get

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<v Speaker 2>to play with every single day here, they hold this

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<v Speaker 2>internal smoke, this internal heat that they know how to

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<v Speaker 2>use it. They know when to use it and when

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<v Speaker 2>the time is to use it. And I think me

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<v Speaker 2>being the younger guy on the team and being able

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<v Speaker 2>to see the other guys and how they go about

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<v Speaker 2>their business. There's a time and a place to show emotion,

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<v Speaker 2>there's a time and a place to say nothing. And

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<v Speaker 2>I think that's what I'm most excited about this year,

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<v Speaker 2>is to be able to show everyone the maturity and

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<v Speaker 2>be the guy that can run the field from behind

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<v Speaker 2>the play.

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<v Speaker 1>Dalton Russian's got the entire package. First day ever talked

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<v Speaker 1>to him, understood the pitcher catcher relationship. He's got edge,

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<v Speaker 1>he wants to compete, he wants to win, and certainly

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<v Speaker 1>the time is now. Thanks a lot for the time.

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<v Speaker 1>Great to see your smile.

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<v Speaker 2>Perfect, Thanks David. Good to see you