TORONTO — The joke was always that Ben Rortvedt was an imaginary figure, one who didn’t actually exist in the flesh—at least for most of his time in the Yankees organization. But there he was Friday night, lining up on the first base line with the Dodgers for pregame ceremonies before Game 1 of the World Series.
The Dodgers’ presence in the Fall Classic was thanks in large part to their superstars and a dominant pitching rotation, but also because Rortvedt did, in fact, exist when the team suddenly lost both of their catchers to injury in early September.
Rortvedt, who had never caught any of the Dodgers’ pitchers after coming over from the Tampa Bay Rays in a deadline trade, was thrust into action. He more than held his own, helping the club in the division race and then starting its first four playoff games on the road at Rogers Centre on Friday.
“It’s been crazy,” Rortvedt said Thursday. “I tell people I haven’t reflected on it as much as I probably should or will when it’s all over. I’ll save that. I’m just trying to stay as focused and in each day as I can. I think that’s why this team has been so good: each person doesn’t think too much about each moment.
“So it’s been really cool to even play a little part and then sit back and learn and watch everybody go about their business.”
All-Star catcher Will Smith returned to starting duties by Game 3 of the National League Division Series, which relegated Rortvedt to the backup role he’s accustomed to. But it was Smith’s hairline fracture in his right hand—undiscovered until a few weeks later—that led to Rortvedt being called up from Triple-A in the first place.
Two days after Smith’s injury, top catching prospect Dalton Rushing fouled a ball off his shin and left the game, suddenly leaving Rortvedt as the next man up behind the plate.
Rortvedt’s first start for the Dodgers came on September 6 at Camden Yards. He caught as Yoshinobu Yamamoto came within one out of throwing a no-hitter against the Orioles. Two nights later, he was behind the plate when Tyler Glasnow and Blake Treinen carried a combined no-hitter into the ninth inning against the Rockies.
“How it all transpired was nuts,” said Rortvedt, who also delivered some big hits along the way despite not being known for his bat. “It really happened extremely fast. I just tried to do my best and stay as present as possible and it ended up working well. You don’t learn as much when you’re not in the fire. I was kind of thrown right into it. It was a lot in a short amount of time, but it was really cool, and I’m grateful.”
Rather abruptly, Rortvedt found himself learning the Dodgers’ pitching staff on the fly—and not just any staff. He was forming batteries with Shohei Ohtani, Blake Snell, Clayton Kershaw, Yamamoto, and Glasnow—a stacked rotation full of established stars.
Rortvedt reached back to his 2023 season with the Yankees, when he essentially turned into Gerrit Cole’s personal catcher during the second half of Cole’s Cy Young campaign.
“He made me so much better as a catcher, game caller, game planner, and how to go about navigating a lineup or pitching in a ballgame,” Rortvedt said. “I came over here and had an understanding of how to respect older guys, how they might want to pitch, or what to kind of expect out of people. It was really cool. He made me so much better, and I’m really grateful.”
The trade that brought Rortvedt to the Dodgers on the eve of spring training in 2022—along with Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Josh Donaldson from the Twins—was mostly considered a bust. But in a twist of fate, either Rortvedt or Kiner-Falefa (now with the Blue Jays) will be getting a World Series ring this year after playing well in their respective roles.
(Donaldson, meanwhile, is out of the game altogether, though he threw out the first pitch before Game 2 of the ALCS.)
“Ben has been an unsung hero,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after the NL wild-card series. “Just coming in here trying to replace an All-Star catcher, he has the trust of the pitchers. He’s a servant first. He receives well. He throws well. He just understands who he is as a hitter. He’s been fantastic.”
https://nypost.com/2025/10/24/sports/ex-yankee-ben-rortvedt-embracing-unlikely-world-series-journey-with-dodgers/
