ANAHEIM — A month ago the Angels were swept by the Minnesota Twins, allowing 11 runs in the series finale. It was one of the lowest points of a mostly disappointing two months.
For more than a half hour after that Sunday afternoon game, catcher Logan O’Hoppe sat in the Angels dugout conferring with bench coach Ray Montgomery. O’Hoppe then spoke to reporters and took responsibility for the flood of runs and hits they allowed.
“When there’s a crooked number under hits on the scoreboard, it’s not fun and you do feel guilty about it,” O’Hoppe said that day. “You do a lot of work to make sure that doesn’t happen. It’s part of my job. That’s why I’m here, to win games and get these guys through it, and I’m not happy with how I’ve been doing it.”
Since that day, the Angels pitching has shown a few more encouraging signs, although the results still aren’t what the Angels need them to be. The same can be said for O’Hoppe’s role in the process.
“I’m not gonna sit there and tell you that I feel like I’m doing more good than bad right now,” the 24-year-old catcher said this weekend. “I feel like I’m definitely feeling the inexperience and opportunities to grow more than I am confirming the things that work. It’s just something I’m trying to be patient with. I’m not gonna lie. It’s taken a toll on me mentally.”
Any discussion of O’Hoppe’s role the performance of the Angels pitchers requires some nuance.
First, no one would suggest that the primary responsibility for pitching strategy falls on anyone but the pitcher who has the ball in his hand.
Also, no one who has spent any time around O’Hoppe has any doubt in the work he puts in toward learning his pitchers and devising a game plan. In fact, one of the reasons the pitchers like O’Hoppe so much is because they feel how invested he is in their performance.
That said, O’Hoppe acknowledges that he hasn’t lived up to his own expectations in terms of handling the pitching staff.
“I think it’s all a learning process,” O’Hoppe said. “I know this position carries a lot of weight and a lot of responsibility, and that’s the part I really do love. It’s heavier than I expected. I’m sure some of that is self-inflicted. It’s just it’s not fun looking up and seeing crooked numbers on the board. Then you have a start like (José) Soriano’s in Cleveland and it all balances out. I know I’m inexperienced. I know I have a lot to learn, but at the same time, I’m trying to stick to what I know works personally and work with them.”
O’Hoppe was behind the plate when Soriano threw six scoreless innings on May 3 at Cleveland, just a few days after that nightmare against the Twins. He was the catcher for all three of the Angels shutouts, including the Soriano start in Cleveland, a Reid Detmers start on April 12 in Boston and a Patrick Sandoval start on May 7 in Pittsburgh.
Left-hander Tyler Anderson, who has been the Angels most consistent starter all season, said last week in an interview on MLB Network Radio that O’Hoppe has improved.
“From where he was last year to this year, he’s made massive strides on the catching side,” Anderson said.
Still, the Angels have a 4.64 ERA, which ranks 27th in the majors. According to some in and around the clubhouse, there have been times when pitch selection has been an issue, as well as execution.
Since the establishment of the pitch timer last year, it’s more difficult than ever for pitchers to shake off a sign until they get what they want. Mound visits are now limited to four per game, further impacting the ability of a pitcher and catcher to get on the same page when there are disagreements.
Back in 2022, the Angels ranked ninth in the majors in ERA. Most of the pitch calling that season was handled by veteran catchers Max Stassi and Kurt Suzuki.
Stassi’s unplanned absence last year left O’Hoppe as the No. 1 catcher, and then he missed four months of the season rehabbing from shoulder surgery. O’Hoppe said he felt like he was trying to take in so much information in such a short time that it was like “drinking out of a fire hose.”
Over the winter the Angels’ front office decided not to provide O’Hoppe with a veteran mentor. Catchers Austin Hedges and Martin Maldonado, for example, were both available as free agents.
Instead, the Angels are trying to speed up the learning curve by giving O’Hoppe every inning he can handle. He’s started 41 of the Angels’ 53 games. His 369-1/3 innings behind the plate are tied for the fourth most in the majors.
Even with a heavy workload this season, O’Hoppe has caught just 98 games in the majors, which is not even one full season for a No. 1 catcher.
O’Hoppe acknowledges that he’s still learning, although grudgingly.
“I pride of myself for not making excuses,” he said. “Because I’m here; I need to win games and be the best I can be. I do tell myself that (I’m inexperienced) but I don’t think that’s any reason to justify any poor performance or excuse.”
Instead of shrugging off the disappointment and chalking it up to growing pains, O’Hoppe said he brings the games home with him. He analyzes the games long after they’re over to see what he could have done differently.
“It’s tough to wind down some nights,” O’Hoppe said, “but I know it’s part of it.”
O’Hoppe is also going through all of this with a new staff around him. Pitching coach Barry Enright and bullpen coach Steve Karsay, as well as run prevention coordinator Alex Cultice, are all new to the mix of voices in O’Hoppe’s head as he decides which pitches to call more than 120 times a night.
Without a veteran catcher to help, O’Hoppe said he’s frequently communicated with Suzuki — now a member of the Angels’ front office — as well as catching coach Jerry Narron and backup catcher Matt Thaiss.
Manager Ron Washington neither blamed nor absolved O’Hoppe for the performance of the pitching staff.
It is a simple fact that the catcher and pitcher work together, and in this case there’s plenty of inexperience on both sides.
Related Articles
Swanson: Angels keep losing, keep fighting
Angels home woes continue with sweep by Guardians
Angels continue to make mistakes on the bases
Jose Soriano, Angels fall short against Guardians
Angels’ Mike Trout remains on track with recovery but still no timetable to return
“We’re not pounding him about the games he’s calling and stuff like this,” Washington said. “We’re trying to get him to understand how to be in charge and understand how to call a game and make adjustments when you have to make adjustments. And that’s not easy when you’ve got 13 pitchers and they’ve all got different personalities and different stuff and you are in your first year calling it.”
Washington acknowledges the challenge O’Hoppe is facing.
“It’s tough,” he said. “He needs to go through this experience.”
UP NEXT
Yankees (LHP Nestor Cortes, 3-4, 3.29) at Angels (RHP Griffin Canning, 2-4, 5.05) at Angel Stadium, 6:38 p.m. PT Tuesday, Bally Sports West, 830 AM.
