One of the best things to happen to the Los Angeles Dodgers as a result of the injuries that wreaked havoc on seemingly all corners of the roster this season is backstop Ben Rortvedt.
The catcher was acquired at the trade deadline in a lowkey move that brought in himself and a pair of pitching prospects in exchange for Triple-A catcher Hunter Feduccia. With All-Star Will Smith and rookie Dalton Rushing as LA’s backstops, not many around the team were talking about Rortvedt.
After Smith and Rushing’s respective injuries, Rortvedt has shown his strengths on offense hitting .294 in seven games for LA, and as a framer behind the plate. He recently showed Dodgers fans another major strength that he can bring to the table displaying immense leadership on Friday night after Tanner Scott allowed a walk-off grand slam in the 10th.
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“Honestly – man, this is tough,” said Rortvedt. “I feel a responsibility for some of these on Tanner, because I’m the one catching and calling it. I mean, you can go back and look at it. No one’s supposed to hit that pitch. Really, no one’s supposed to hit that pitch. That’s a good fastball. Really went down with the pitch before, had his eyes down.
“His at-bat before, he punched on three heaters that weren’t that high. So like I said, I feel responsible for some of these late in the innings, so I feel pretty bad. But we just got to keep showing up, keep competing. Tanner is a great pitcher. He’s gonna get through this, and we all have his back.”
Rortvedt was behind the dish for both of Scott’s meltdowns that occurred this past week.
Scott doesn’t seem to buy-in to Rortvedt being responsible for his shortcomings, speaking candidly after the game about his past performances.
“Gave up a bad pitch to a hitter that can hit fastballs. It cost us again,” Scott said. “I’m tired of it happening.
“It’s terrible. I’m having the worst year of my life. I gotta be better.”
Taking accountability on the biggest stages, especially after such a heartbreaking loss, is a mark of a superior teammate. Regardless of how long Rortvedt has to continue to fill in for Smith, LA can be confident that he is a more than dependable option until his teammates heal.
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Photo Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
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4 Responses
He’s a third string catcher. He’s supposed to be able to catch the ball and maybe hit a little. D’s got hosed the batter before when he caught a foul tip, but it wasn’t ruled as such. Should have been a strikeout. That would have left a base open and a little more breathing room for Scott who is struggling big time. But a bad call and no breathing room.
I appreciate trying to take one for the team, but it WASN’T HIS FAULT!
I agree it wasn’t his fault but the third string catcher comment doesn’t seem right to me. The guy is really helping them with his blocking abilities and his bat helps too.
I’m not sure I’m quite in the Dodger Legend Rortvedt Marching and Chowder Society (apologies to Vinny) yet. He hit into a DP with a rather critical bases loaded situation last night, but at least came through with that clean double later in the game. He’s blocked a few balls, but that’s what catchers are supposed to do. Others he should/could have blocked, he didn’t. If anyone was the best at blocking, it was Barnes and Smith has come a long ways in that respect, too. So, bottom line for me, it’s too early to make any objective opinions.
I appreciate Tanner Scott taking responsibility as well. However, given the the way it’s going for him pretty much all season long we can’t rely on him being a closer. Let’s just do what we did last season and have a closer by committee. Why change something that worked for us last season?