ANAHEIM — Logan O’Hoppe was forced to admit that he was wrong.
“I tried what I felt like was right, and it still wasn’t right,” the Angels catcher said. “So you learn from the best in the game on how to adjust.”
In late April, O’Hoppe was so frustrated with his performance framing pitches and blocking balls in the dirt that he abandoned what has become the standard style of catching in the majors. Instead of catching with one knee on the ground, O’Hoppe went to the more traditional style, on two feet.
“The numbers still sucked,” O’Hoppe said. “I haven’t felt good behind the plate all year. I just haven’t felt convicted in what I’m doing. I haven’t felt strong back there. I felt very quick, like out of control.”
So, O’Hoppe spent the flight from Boston to Southern California on Wednesday night watching video of other catchers who have been successful on one knee.
After a day off on Friday, O’Hoppe was back behind the plate on Saturday, and back on one knee.
“Last night was the first time in a while where I felt pretty convicted in what I was doing,” O’Hoppe said. “Yesterday I felt as confident as I have if a ball was in the dirt, I felt like I could catch anything and catch it well yesterday.”
O’Hoppe is in the 3rd percentile in the majors in blocking and the 4th in framing, in both cases making him one of the worst in the sport.
The blocking issues led to another problem. O’Hoppe said before the Angels arrived in Boston last week he made an adjustment with the way he set up, which was an effort to help him block balls.
The problem was, O’Hoppe admits that he “could have overdone that part,” meaning he set up too early for the pitch. That basically signaled to the opposition what pitch was coming. Tyler Anderson, who was on the mound that day, subsequently confronted Red Sox first base coach José Flores, accusing him of signaling the pitches to the hitters.
While that behavior is frowned upon in the big leagues, the catcher enables it by telegraphing the pitches too early.
“It’s unfortunate that happened,” O’Hoppe said. “I have to do a better job of staying disciplined and not overdoing the things we talk about.”
That incident also led O’Hoppe to scrap the two-foot setup. He said now he’s going to have his left knee down on every pitch.
O’Hoppe said it’s been a frustrating season as he’s struggled to meet his own expectations for his work behind the plate. That all may be part of the reason that Angels pitchers have a 3.98 ERA with Travis d’Arnaud behind the plate and a 5.42 ERA with O’Hoppe.
“Definitely you have to swallow your pride a little bit, because it does suck how many changes I’ve made,” O’Hoppe said. “There’s so much stuff this year that I’m learning and trying to navigate through. It’s another little block we’ve got to work through.”
NOTES
Designated hitter Jorge Soler was out of the lineup because of groin tightness. He said through an interpreter that he’s “a little bit concerned,” because it’s been an issue for a couple weeks. Soler said he’s scheduled to have more tests on Monday, and those could determine if he needs to go on the injured list. …
Chris Taylor was moved into the No. 5 spot on Sunday, after collecting five hits in his previous three games. Taylor was 1 for 14 in his first five games with the Angels. “The more at-bats he gets, the more pitches he sees, he’ll start being able to be serviceable,” Manager Ron Washington said. “From the first day he arrived here until yesterday, when he got his at-bats yesterday, you could see it getting better and getting better. And I just hope he continues to get better, because if he does he’s going to be a big help to our club moving forward.”
UP NEXT
Athletics (TBD) at Angels (LHP Yusei Kikuchi, 1-5, 3.23), Monday, 6:38 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network West, 830 AM