Logan O’Hoppe Reveals Pitcher He Faced That Made Him Step Back In Awe

One of the more exciting young players in the Los Angeles Angels system is catcher Logan O'Hoppe. He was acquired by the Halos from the Philadelphia Phillies during the 2022 trade deadline and has since proven his worth to the team.

He was limited to only 51 games last season due to injury, but O'Hoppe showed that he could be their catcher of the future. He hit .236 with 14 home runs and 29 runs batted in.

The Angels are very high on O'Hoppe, and they believe he is one of their key contributors going forward. He will need to continue building on his craft, but he seems dedicated to the challenge.

During an appearance on MLB Network, O'Hoppe was asked if there was a pitcher that he has faced that made him step back in awe. He answered honestly, and it's a cool story to hear from a young player.

“It was an exhibition game actually, we were at Dodger Stadium and Kershaw was on the mound. Obviously couldn't call time with the pitch clock, I didn’t think that was a warranted reason to burn my timeout. But that was a pretty cool moment.”

Per Logan O'Hoppe via MLB Network

Every athlete has that moment where they realize that they are facing off against someone that they grew up watching. For O'Hoppe, he had to re-group himself when he faced Clayton Kershaw, even in an exhibition game.

It must have been a cool moment for O'Hoppe and possibly had him thinking that he made it. Kershaw has been in the league for a long time, so O'Hoppe likely isn't alone in feeling this way.

He will surely face other pitchers and players in the same manner, but now he will be more ready. O'Hoppe can look at them as a colleague now, rather than someone he looked up to.