Rushing knows catching is top priority

In college and Cape Cod league, Dodger logged time at first base and in outfield.

- By KEvIN BAXTER

THE DODGERS' Dalton Rushing is a versatile player on defense, but the bat is his calling card.

Dalton Rushing keeps a few baseball gloves on the top shelf of his corner locker in the Dodger Stadium clubhouse. None of them is a catcher’s mitt.

Which seems significant since Rushing is a catcher.

But in college at Louisville and in the Cape Cod Summer League, he played more games at first base and in the outfield than behind the plate. So he still runs out with a fielder’s glove during batting practice, just in case.

“T'll shag during BP, just kind of to take the shakiness, just to be as comfortable as possible if I have to go out there,” he said.

“It’s good to have that skill, to bounce over there and play. But the biggest thing moving forward is catching.”