Don't buy into Dalton Rushing's pathetic Dodgers PR campaign

Dalton Rushing is the villain the Dodgers deserve. Los Angeles is far too likable for a team in search of their third straight World Series championship. Who doesn't love Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Freddie Freeman and the Dodgers host of highly-priced stars? If there is one positive to come from LA's rush to first place to start the 2026 season, it is Rushing. The former Dodgers top prospect is playing like one, but more importantly, he's acting like a petulant child and poor sport in the process. It's exactly what MLB needs.

And frankly, who's to say if we weren't as good at something as Rushing is at baseball, that we wouldn't act the same way? In 19 games, Rushing has a .328/.400/.724 slash line and a 1.124 OPS. That's elite, and Rushing isn't even playing everyday. Yet, it's what he does in between at-bats and in the dugout that rubs opponents and fans the wrong way.

What Dalton Rushing is saying about his actions

In the past month, Rushing has done all the following, as told by The Athletic.

• Accused the Colorado Rockies of “fishy” swing decisions in a game.
• Appeared to say Clearly said “f— ‘em” when looking back at the injured Giants outfielder Jung Hoo Lee, sparking a back-and-forth.
• Appeared to call Chicago Cubs catcher Miguel Amaya a “fat f—.”
• Appeared to feud with home-plate umpire Clint Vondrak before flipping an iPad onto the bench and, the next day, made an exaggerated timeout call.

I will note that any 'appeared to' is quite generous given Rushing admitted guilt to much of this, and it was often confirmed by those on the field if not by Rushing himself. Who are we protecting here? Rushing has insulted an injured player in Lee, called out a rival's weight, feuded with a home plate umpire and accused the lowly Rockies of cheating. This is poor sportsmanship, not just a player with an edge.

And, to Rushing's credit, he's received that point. He told Jack Harris of The California Post that he doesn't want to be thought of as a poor sport on the baseball diamond. He also went out of his way to blame social media, a tired response these days but at least a step in the right direction.

“Obviously, you know what social media can turn you into, [how it can] build an image for yourself both positively and negatively,” Rushing told Harris. “So I think from here on out, it’s just my job to build a positive platform for myself.”

Will Dodgers star Dalton Rushing change his ways?

Is this a serious question? Trust me, I'm in the media. Players will say just about anything to make us go away and paint a positive picture of them. Dodgers fans have, for the most part, remained on Rushing's side. Yet even they had their doubts following incidents with Lee and Amaya. Now they're basically eating out of his hands.

The most important quote Rushing gave Harris actually came right after he suggested "building a positive platform," whatever that means. Rushing doesn't actually want to change at all. He just hopes you start seeing him differently on social media, which isn't how any of this works.

“I’m gonna continue to compete, I’m gonna continue to play with an edge,” he said. “But obviously we can hone back a little bit on things that can get you in trouble in this media world.”

Rushing is a young player who's allowed to make some mistakes along the way. At the same time he needs to be held accountable for those actions. We in the media shouldn't do him any favors, including in our verbiage and social media promotion.

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