LI's Logan O'Hoppe gets back into Angels lineup after recovering from labrum tear

Logan O’Hoppe vividly remembers the moment his epic homecoming became a horrifying nightmare.

The Sayville resident and St. John the Baptist graduate had just scorched a 94.9-mph ground ball down the third-base line of the stadium he visited countless times as a child. It was his third hit of the game and it came off of Bay Shore’s Greg Weissert.

The Angels’ rookie catcher made his way to first base with a torn labrum in his left shoulder in front of dozens of friends and relatives at Yankee Stadium on April 20.

“It was the worst moment of my career so far,” O’Hoppe told Newsday. “Everyone said, ‘You’re going to love the game so much when you come back.’ But I already loved it so much. I don’t love it any more now than I did before I left and I’m just really happy to be back.”

The injury required surgery and O’Hoppe was shelved for almost four months. He made his return last Friday, Aug. 18, against the Rays. He went hitless in his first two games back but belted a 392-foot blast against the Reds on Tuesday.

As he readied for the first of a three-game series against the Mets, he stood in the visiting clubhouse with a smile as wide as Citi Field’s giant scoreboard in centerfield.

“His goal was to get back for this series and he ended up getting back a little earlier,” Angels manager Phil Nevin said. “Credit to him, he’s in such phenomenal shape. Every hurdle he had to cross in his rehab, he jumped over them. Nobody has put more into a rehab program than him.”

“I approached it like a challenge and I figured that I’m going to get out of it what I put into it,” O’Hoppe added. “I made it a job, 24 hours, seven days a week. I’m proud to say that I overcame it and did it the right way.”

Prior to the injury, O’Hoppe batted .283 with an .886 OPS, four home runs and 13 RBIs in 59 plate appearances to start the season.

His return coincides with the news of Shohei Ohtani’s torn UCL and Mike Trout’s return to the injured list after one game back from the hamate fracture in his left hand that he suffered in July.

“At 23 years old, he garners instant leadership from our guys and you see the impact his presence has right away,” Nevin said of O'Hoppe. “With the news from yesterday, it’s disappointing, but we’re excited to have Logan back.”

In front of more family and friends, O’Hoppe batted sixth and got behind the dish Friday night. He singled to left in his first at-bat in the second inning.

Said O’Hoppe, “Even though I was a Yankee fan growing up, I came to a lot of games here, too. So this is pretty surreal.”