Angels' Backstop Says 'A Lot of Things' Fed Into Slump — But Not Fatigue

Maren Angus-Coombs | Sep 6, 2024

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Logan O'Hoppe is among the major league leaders in games and innings behind the plate and his offense took a hit in August.

However, the backstop insists they aren't related.

O'Hoppe recently said he began to realize how precious off-days are when he had two hits, including a home run, during his first game after two straight days off.

“I’m starting to grow up a little bit and understand that these days off help,” O’Hoppe told Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register after the game on July 31. “I think that two days off in a row definitely did help. I felt pretty good tonight.”

The same thing happened this week. O'Hoppe had back-to-back days off and hit a home run on Tuesday against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“I’m going back to my old ways and saying (the days off) didn’t play a big part of it,” O’Hoppe said. “I think we hopped in the cage after the game (Sunday). We worked on some things. It felt really different. So that was a good sign. I wasn’t beating my head against the wall like I was in the past month. Just looking to build on it going forward.”

O'Hoppe has caught 948.1 innings across 112 games, both ranking in the top three in the majors. However, his offensive performance has plummeted, with a 7-for-79 slump over the past month. He's currently batting .242 with 18 home runs and a .709 OPS, down from a season-high .826 OPS just before the All-Star break.

The 24-year-old insisted that he physically felt fine.

“You feel things here and there, but we’re supposed to be tired right now,” he said. “It’s September. And no, I didn’t just admit to you that I am tired. Don’t take it there. But I do believe we’re supposed to be tired right now. We’ve been going since January.”

O'Hoppe believes the issues impeding his hitting were all mechanical. He said the Angels' hitting coach, Johnny Washington, and assistant hitting coach Jayson Nix helped him correct them.

“They pointed out a lot of things that I didn’t realize had changed over time,” O’Hoppe said. “There was a lot going on. I don’t want to get into the specifics of it, but I’m grateful to them and I’ll keep leaning on them.”

O'Hoppe is slashing .242/.299/.408 with 18 home runs and 51 RBIs in his first full major league season.