Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing is making a name for himself in 2026. The 25-year-old has seven home runs with a 1.312 OPS in 14 games, and he’s already becoming one of the most hated players around the league. The second-year player had a spat with the San Francisco Giants earlier in April, and now, Chicago Cubs star Nico Hoerner has an issue with Rushing.
During Saturday’s game between the Cubs and Dodgers, Miguel Amaya advanced to second base on a wild pitch thrown by Roki Sasaki. Rushing was behind the plate and nearly threw out Amaya, who got a late jump after seeing the ball in the dirt. Fox cameras stayed on Rushing after the throw, and lip-readers immediately saw the Dodgers’ catcher say, “fat fuck,” as Amaya slid in safely.
It’s nothing too crazy. Shit-talking happens every game, but Hoerner, who was at the plate, was noticeably taken aback by the comment and gave Rushing a mean side eye.
On Tuesday, Hoerner appeared on the Spiegel & Holmes Show and was asked about the viral clip.
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Here’s what Hoerner said during his radio segment about the incident.
Via the New York Post.
“I wish that I had confronted him a little more directly, to be honest. I was pretty taken aback in the middle of my at-bat. It was just kind of a strange thing to experience, so, yeah, I felt a little weird about that. I’m not saying I should’ve have like tackled the guy or anything, but still a little taken aback. At the end of the day, you just wanna have your teammates’ backs.”
While the show’s hosts did not directly ask Hoerner if Rushing said “fat f–k,” they asked him if they read his lips right in that instance and he simply said: “Yeah.”
And just like that, there’s a new layer to the Cubs vs. Dodgers rivalry. Pete Crow-Armstrong has repeatedly called out Dodgers fans, while Dave Roberts fired back at Craig Counsell, who talked about the “Ohtani rule,” and now there’s Dalton Rushing acting like an asshole and Nico Hoerner not liking it.
The Cubs host the Dodgers at Wrigley Field from Aug. 3-5. Appointment television.
