When Phillies second baseman Bryson Stott viewed a video of Los Angeles Angels catcher Logan O’Hoppe cracking his shoulder while swinging a bat last Thursday, his heart dropped. It seemed unfortunate that O’Hoppe would be hurt in Yankee Stadium, of all places. He grew up on Long Island and was raised as a Yankees supporter. While advancing through the Phillies’ minor league system with Stott, he told his pal how much he wanted to play there someday.
Actually, Stott stated, O’Hoppe did not only want to play there; he wanted to play well there. And he was playing well. O’Hoppe went 2-for-3 that day with two RBIs.
He then entered the batter’s box in the ninth inning to face Yankees reliever Greg Weissert.
He took a few swings, and on the fourth pitch, he hit the ball down the left-field line, yelled, and briefly collapsed in pain.
He jogged to first base in time to be credited with a single, but at a high cost. With tears flowing down his cheeks, he slammed his helmet to the ground and left the game, which the Yankees won 9-3. An MRI later revealed that he had a ruptured labrum in his left shoulder, which had bothered him previously. The 23-year-old rookie had a great start but underwent surgery and will be out for four to six months.
Stott decided to text a friend.
“I just wanted to let him know that injuries happen and he’ll be back before anybody thinks he will,” Stott stated. “Knowing him and how hard he works, he’ll be back soon.”
Stott and O’Hoppe were selected by the Philadelphia Phillies one year apart. They were teammates in low-A Williamsport in 2019, the Phillies’ alternate COVID site in 2020, and high-A Jersey Shore, double-A Reading, triple-A Lehigh Valley, and the Arizona Fall League in 2021. Stott has long respected O’Hoppe’s work ethic. He was selected in the 23rd round in 2018, but followed in the footsteps of Stott, who was drafted in the first round in 2019.
They developed close friendships. When O’Hoppe’s father, Michael, was diagnosed with cancer in 2021, he turned to Stott, who had lost a buddy to illness in high school.
“He knew that my friend had gone through it, so I just wanted to be there for him,” said Stott. “He asked me questions. I care deeply about them. Our mothers are pretty close. It’s a good overall family friendship.”
After O’Hoppe was traded to the Angels on August 2 in exchange for centre fielder Brandon Marsh, he and Stott maintained contact. Stott was sad to see him go, but he believed his friend would get more playing time in Anaheim than in Philadelphia, where All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto was a roadblock to his major league debut.
He enjoyed checking the box scores for O’Hoppe and occasionally watching his games.
That was even more delightful recently because O’Hoppe was clicking offensively.
After making a brief appearance for the Angels in 2022, he was hitting.283 with an.886 OPS, four home runs, and 13 RBIs in 16 games this season.
He has started 15 of the Angels’ 19 games behind the plate before his injury.
“I would check up on him every couple of days or so, just to see how he was doing,” Stott explained. “He was hitting a lot of homers. I was so proud of him.
“I’m disappointed for him. He got off to a good start. But I believe he is the most hardworking person I’ve ever known. “He will be back soon.”
O’Hoppe had surgery on Tuesday and told reporters it went well. Stott stated that he will wait a few days before reaching out again. But he intends to keep in regular communication with O’Hoppe.
“He was one of my closer friends,” Stott said. “He’s in as good a mood as he can be. I can’t wait for him to start playing again.”
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