By the time Anthony Rendon steps up to the batter's box at Tempe Diablo Stadium, the Los Angeles Angels' spring training facility, he might not be welcomed with open arms.
On Tuesday, Rendon was seen telling reporters that baseball, his chosen profession, is not a “top priority.”
“This has never been a top priority. This is a job. I do this to make a living,” Anthony Rendon said, per MLB.com. “My faith and my family come first before this job. So if those things come before it, I’ll move on.”
It's likely that those words could come back to haunt Rendon once the actual regular season begins.
Anthony Rendon on if baseball is a top priority for him:
"It’s never been a top priority for me. This is a job. I do this to make a living. My faith, my family come first before this job. So if those things come before it, I’m leaving."
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— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) February 19, 2024
Anthony Rendon hasn't lived up to his contract since signing with the Angels
First and foremost, no one should ridicule Rendon for his comments about his faith and family being his top priority in life. It's hard to say many would argue with that sentiment. However, it's the use of the word “job” that's so startling, not to mention the tone of Rendon's words that come off as troubling in this situation, making many wonder if Jonathan Papelbon was right, and if the Angels infielder really does “hate baseball.”
This is no ordinary job that Rendon has. It's one that only a select few get to obtain, and ones that many simply only get to dream of. In fact, it's more than just a job, it's a career, one for Rendon that has spanned going on 12 years now and that has made him a lot of money.
After winning the World Series with the Washington Nationals in 2019, Rendon headed off toward Anaheim when the Angels offered him a 7-year, $245 million contract (per spotrac). Many Angels fans were hoping that this would be another bat to go alongside Mike Trout with hopes of finally competing in the AL West and getting back to the playoffs. But none of that has happened in the five seasons the third baseman has been there.
Since arriving for the 2020 season, which was cut short to just 60 games due to COVID restrictions, Rendon has played in just 200 games. That averages to just 50 games a season. Excluding the 2020 season, which would technically be the closest that the 33-year-old has come to playing a complete season since his last in Washington (146 games), he hasn't played even half a season since joining the Angels.
Last season, Rendon dealt with a groin and wrist injury most of the season before finally on July 4 in a game against the San Diego Padres he fouled a ball off his right shin that fractured his tibia, ending his season entirely. That officially gave him the worst season of his career, where he only played in 43 games, slashed .236/.361/318, with two homers, 22 RBIs in 183 plate appearances.
And yet, he made $38 million in 2023.
For Anthony Rendon, being the Angels third baseman can't just be a “job”
That's ultimately what will stick in the craw of many Angels fans, not to mention that Rendon has already called for MLB to lessen the amount of games per season, making many wonder the legitimacy of his injuries. Granted, players can't stop the injury bug. That's unfortunately part of the game. It is worrisome when it comes to players like Rendon who continuously have dealt with them, but that's the risk of signing any player to lucrative deals. But to come out and say it's “just a job” while visibly being unnerved by the press's questions can't sit well with anyone, whether it's fans or Angels management.
What has to be worrisome for Angels fans is that Rendon saying that playing third base for the Angels is simply a job is perhaps indicative of what the franchise has been dealing with for the last decade. In six out of the last nine seasons, the Angels have placed fourth in the AL West, winning under 80 games in five of those seasons (2020 excluded), and below .500 in all those seasons except for the 2015 season (85-77). And in those seasons, they've seen the talents of generational talents like Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani wasted.
No one is asking Rendon to make baseball the entire meaning of his existence. But those who watch him do want him to care and to not act as if the game is a burden placed on him. They want him to act like it's not a job, because it isn't. It's not like the ones that most of us have to attend in Monday-Friday, 9-5 fashion or similar. This is baseball. It's entertainment, and yet it pays more than probably 99.9 percent of those in paying attendants who would never earn that type of salary in multiple lifetimes.
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