We should all be very lucky to be paid $245 million to do something we don’t consider a top priority.
Injured and no longer productive Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon just announced on Monday that he’s not a big fan of baseball as a whole.
“It wasn’t a priority for me,” Rendon said. According to The Athletic. “This is a job. I do this for a living. My faith, my family, comes before this job.
“So if something like that happens before then, I’m going to leave.”
Once one of the best players in the sport, Rendon has retreated into a shell of himself since joining the Angels, and may just hate the sport that will apparently pay him $38.6 million this year. .
Rendon struggled with injuries last year, but I have been thinking about retiring for the past 10 years.. That’s not a great look for a superstar athlete.
As spring training began, reporters asked Rendon about his thoughts on retirement.
The 33-year-old said his enthusiasm “hasn’t changed” since he was drafted in 2011, and recently discovered an email he wrote to himself in 2014, his first full season with the Nationals. He said that the advantages and disadvantages were listed. Why did he continue playing baseball?
Times have changed that list.
“Not at all. I’m married. I have four children,” Rendon said. “My priorities have changed since I was in my early 20s. So definitely my view of baseball is even more skewed.”
When a reporter asked if baseball remained his top priority, Rendon quipped that it was never his top priority.
Then he uttered a line that I’m sure many people who aren’t lucky enough to hit a total of 13 home runs over the past three years and earn a salary of more than $100 million have said.
“Oh, that’s definitely a priority. Because that’s my job,” Rendon said. “You’re here, aren’t you?”
As the interview drew to a close, a reporter asked Rendon, “Do you want to be here?” To this, he replied that he did not want to talk to the media in the early hours.
After a follow-up question about whether he wanted to play baseball for the Angels, Rendon dropped the topic.
“I answered your question,” Rendon said. “Then why do you keep bullying it?”
The Angels have admitted that Rendon doesn’t love baseball anymore, and since his salary is on the line through the 2026 season, they’ll probably be happy when he retires.
Rendon has arguably the worst contract of any position player in the sport — it’s a battle with the Yankees’ slimmed-down slugger Giancarlo Stanton — and his seven-year total of $245 million. Dollar’s contract would probably be the worst in MLB without Stephen Strasburg’s contract extension with the Nationals. .
The comment wasn’t Rendon’s first sign of dissatisfaction with the sport.
“We’ve got to shorten the season. Too many crazy games — 162 games and 185 days, or whatever it is. No, no. We’ve got to shorten this bad guy.” Rendon said this on the “Jack Vita Show” in January.
This led many to note that Rendon has not played in 162 games with the Angels.
In fact, the Angels have gotten a total of 200 games from Rendon over four seasons (no more than 58 in any season), with a slash line of .249/.359/.399/.758 with 22 home runs and 111 homers. are doing. RBI.
