HOUSTON \u2014 A.J. Pierzynski laughed at the comparison this week.<\/p>\n
There are easy dots to connect between Pierzynski and Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing, two men who don\u2019t have much of a relationship but now occupy a similar space as catchers who have developed something of a reputation for shenanigans.<\/p>\n
Pierzynski was once voted MLB\u2019s most hated player in a survey of 100 major leaguers. Over the past few weeks, Rushing flashed a similar edge, an emerging personality, at age 25. Since Opening Day, he\u2019s run afoul of the Rockies, Cubs, Giants and umpires. It\u2019s no fluke. Rushing had the same reputation in the minors.<\/p>\n
Is Rushing baseball\u2019s next heel?<\/p>\n
\u201cDo I see some similarities? Absolutely,\u201d Pierzynski said by phone this week. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t bother me. I mean, I think he might bother some other people. I think it\u2019s great. He plays the way he has to play. He just plays with passion. You can tell that he loves to play. He wants to win. He shows that. I don\u2019t know why that is a bad thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pierzynski, a 19-year big league veteran, was a polarizing figure in his playing days. He was a fierce competitor, but an even fiercer agitator, which earned him a reputation as one of the game\u2019s most antagonizing players. But within the walls of each of the seven clubhouses he spent time in during his career, he was equally respected for his tenacity, hustle and commitment to his teammates.<\/p>\n
As Rushing enters his second major-league season, the same words once used to describe Pierzsynski are now being applied to Rushing: cocky, combative and competitive. It\u2019s true that the 25-year-old is starting to make a name for himself. But he\u2019s pushing back on the reason why.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think guys have started to like, give me the label of (villain),\u201d Rushing said. \u201cI just think that\u2019s me competing at the highest level and not allowing any outside source to kind of get in my way.\u201d<\/p>\n
After a friction-filled first month, The Athletic spoke with Rushing, teammates, coaches and executives who have been around the surprise slugger to get a better understanding of the former top prospect suddenly under scrutiny. Each spoke of a confident and competitive figure who, along with his clear talents, has always had a chip on his shoulder.<\/p>\n
To recap his opening month, Rushing \u2026<\/p>\n
Accused the Colorado Rockies of \u201cfishy\u201d swing decisions in a game.
\nAppeared say \u201cf\u2014 \u2019em\u201d when looking back at the injured Giants outfielder Jung Hoo Lee, sparking a back-and-forth.
\nAppeared to call Chicago Cubs catcher Miguel Amaya a \u201cfat f\u2014.\u201d
\nAppeared to feud with home-plate umpire Clint Vondrak before flipping an iPad onto the bench and, the next day, made an exaggerated timeout call.
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/USATSI_28840561-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n Dalton Rushing argues with home plate umpire Clint Vondrak after he was called for strike three on a pitch clock violation. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n
While the former top prospect has surpassed all expectations on the field in the first month of his first full season in the major leagues, it seems all anyone can talk about when discussing Rushing is who he\u2019s apparently antagonized that given day.<\/p>\n
Rushing is aware of the scrutiny, even if he hasn\u2019t watched some of the clips that internet sleuths have circulated. \u201cThe social media side of it is, they\u2019re never gonna miss,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re gonna find every avenue they can to make a bit about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The hubbub has also caught the attention of those who know him best. He has an ally in steady and calm teammate Freddie Freeman, even if the two personalities could not be further apart.<\/p>\n
\u201cDalton can sometimes black out on a baseball field, but he believes in himself,\u201d Freeman said. \u201cHe cares so much about wanting to be good, so you can\u2019t fault someone for that. That would just be taking away something from who Dalton Rushing is. So for me, I\u2019m not gonna ever tell him not to do that. I mean, maybe watch what you\u2019re saying on cameras, you know, and stuff like that.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou just try and throw up some bumpers in the bowling lane.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a little fishy\u201d<\/p>\n
Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing couldn\u2019t figure out how the Rockies were connecting on so many first-pitch swings pic.twitter.com\/X7E4gCqFgr<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) April 19, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n His previous coaches echo the support, pointing to Rushing\u2019s demeanor and intensity as a positive.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s easy to critique,\u201d said Dan McDonnell, Rushing\u2019s coach at the University of Louisville. \u201cBut for those that are in the battlefield, man, it\u2019s hard to not love a guy that, it matters. You know what I\u2019m saying? It matters to him.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe can be polarizing at times,\u201d said Billy Gasparino, the Dodgers\u2019 assistant general manager who helps run their drafts. \u201cI think the one thing that stands out to me is he loves baseball. He\u2019s super knowledgeable. He loves to talk. Behind the intense competitor, there\u2019s like a pretty good guy in there that likes his teammates and would do anything for them.\u201d<\/p>\n That said, Rushing\u2019s graduation into red-assery<\/a>, to borrow a classic baseball term, is up to how people choose to interpret his behavior. He can be seen as a dogged competitor who used his edge to push his way to the big leagues. He could also be a guy who can rub his opponents the wrong way.<\/p>\n The backup catcher does not want this.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t want guys to look at me as a bad guy on and off the field,\u201d Rushing said. \u201cBut at the same time, I\u2019m not going to change my game. I\u2019m going to play the same way that I have. I\u2019m going to control the things that are said.\u201d<\/p>\n Dalton Rushing reiterated postgame he cleared the air with Jung Hoo Lee. Asked how he interpreted the HBP, Rushing said:<\/p>\n “Whatever they want to call it. I like getting on base. I’ll take it.”<\/p>\n \u2014 Katie Woo (@katiejwoo) April 23, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n As Rushing sees more playing time, the baseball world sees more of what can be described as aggravating antics. Rushing\u2019s presence in the news cycle has made him a point of conversation for the two-time defending World Series champions. What happens next is pivotal as he navigates the next stretch of his career. Even before the Dodgers\u2019 temperamental catcher has a full-time job, he\u2019ll have to consider how he wants to be remembered.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t wish anybody to walk down the path that I had to walk through my entire career, always answering questions, always having to defend yourself and then you feel bad,\u201d Pierzynski said. \u201cYour teammates have to defend you all the time. I\u2019m very thankful that my teammates did that. But if that\u2019s the way I had to do it, that\u2019s the way I had to do it.<\/p>\n \u201cIf that\u2019s the way Dalton has to do it, then you know what? Go do it because he\u2019s proven he\u2019s a pretty damn good player.\u201d<\/p>\n Rushing\u2019s edge has always been clear, even when he first arrived on campus as a surprise commit out of Memphis, Tenn.<\/p>\n Louisville\u2019s depth chart made it difficult for Rushing to get on the field. He shared a catcher\u2019s room with Henry Davis, the eventual No. 1 overall pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates, and Jack Payton, an eventual finalist for the Buster Posey Award given to college baseball\u2019s best catcher.<\/p>\n That didn\u2019t stop Rushing from asserting his place, or from even being assertive in doing so. He stirred things up enough for McDonnell, the longtime Louisville coach, to dismiss him from more than one practice.<\/p>\n But Rushing didn\u2019t act out, McDonnell said. Instead, how Rushing responded to the discipline painted a fuller picture of who he is.<\/p>\n \u201cSome kids could try to fight ya,\u201d McDonnell said. \u201cHis was never (that). His was a, \u2018I know, I understand, I apologize.\u2019 (He was a) very sweet, respectful kid off the field. So that\u2019s what you realize in some of these athletes, man. \u2026 That\u2019s what some of the great ones have, man. I\u2019m a different character when it\u2019s time to play ball.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Harvey Shapiro, who coached Rushing with the Bourne Braves of the Cape Cod League, had a similar experience. Like McDonnell, the coach saw his fiery side as a positive.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s not the just strike out or go 0-for-5 and look like you couldn\u2019t care less and casually walk back and put your helmet in the rack,\u201d McDonnell said. \u201cHe was never like that.<\/p>\n That just wasn\u2019t him. He was just very emotional.\u201d<\/p>\n It helps that everywhere he\u2019s gone, he\u2019s hit. When Rushing was dominating his final season at Louisville, crushing 23 home runs in just 64 games, the Dodgers coveted him ahead of the 2022 MLB Draft. Gasparino struggled to figure out what was and wasn\u2019t real about Rushing\u2019s draft stock. The organization saw him as a first-round pick. The league-wide consensus, less so.<\/p>\n \u201cLike, what am I missing here?\u201d Gasparino recalls his scouts saying in draft meetings. \u201cThis all adds up so well. I don\u2019t care what the rankings or industry thinks, we should like this guy. We should be on this guy.\u201d<\/p>\n The Dodgers didn\u2019t have a first-round pick, so they selected him with the first choice of the second round. His career \u2014 and his reputation \u2014 were about to take off.<\/p>\n Rushing\u2019s competitive streak was obvious, according to multiple people who watched him at several levels of the minors. According to one story, Rushing faced a major leaguer back in the minors on a rehab start. The veteran pitcher retired the young catcher on a groundout, but Rushing still returned to the bench and crowed that if that\u2019s all the pitcher had, \u201che\u2019s in f\u2014ing trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s not something Rushing is conscious of in the moment.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s just out of instinct \u2026 that\u2019s how I play,\u201d Rushing said. \u201cI don\u2019t want to talk smack. If I do, it\u2019s out of instinct, and it\u2019s out of competitive nature. For a long time in my life, I played football, and that\u2019s how you compete. You let them know how you feel, and you express your feelings physically.\u201d<\/p>\n Dalton Rushing called time very emphatically this time pic.twitter.com\/tI5fH4Dcgv<\/a><\/p>\n