The Angels have been eliminated from all playoff hope. This isn't news, unfortunately. The club has been playing out the string while looking ahead to 2024 with a group of impressive rookies doing what they can to prove they can be pillars for the organization for years to come.
While the Angels' playoff hopes are done, there are still a number of teams fighting to secure a postseason berth. On Friday night, both narratives we're working with here collided.
The Twins locked up the AL Central and celebrated at Target Field after getting the final out. Left waiting at the altar was Halos rookie catcher Logan O'Hoppe. A camera stayed set on O'Hoppe as he watched the Twins celebration from the on deck circle. The catcher slowly walked back to the dugout and stood on the top step watching intently.
As X user Curtis Cook noted in the below post, it's the look of a player who wants that for himself and his own team.
O'Hoppe is certainly part of the future for the Angels. He along with young standouts like Zach Neto, Nolan Schanuel, Ben Joyce and others will look to form the core of the next great Halos team.
Bally Sports West reporter Erica Weston caught up with the rookie backstop before Saturday's game to discuss his thoughts on watching the Twins celebrate.
"It's not fun to watch. Obviously, you watch a team do what you wanted to do and what you planned on doing, and it's not fun to watch. It's been a tough year mentally. Selfishly, I had to sit through four months of watching these games and coming back into it, you're watching other teams celebrate. And it's not easy and it's not fun."
O'Hoppe missed four months of the season with a shoulder injury and subsequent surgery. He returned in the middle of August and has struggled to get back on track, hitting just .189. But what he showed before his injury and the leadership qualities he has shown on the field -- even as a rookie -- gives the Angels something to build around for the future.
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