Anthony Rendon has a World Series title, two Silver Slugger awards and a $245 million MLB contract. However, baseball “has never been a top priority” for the Los Angeles Angels third baseman.
Speaking at the Angels camp in Tempe, Arizona on Monday, Rendon shared that the game is one of the most important things in his life as he looks to finally embark on a full, healthy season in LA.
“It’s a job. I do this for a living,” he said. “My faith and my family come before this job. So if those things come before that, I’ll move on.”
Rendon is entering his 12th MLB season and is not thinking about retiring just yet. However, when a reporter asked him if he “wanted to stay here” he replied verbatim.
He said, “I don’t want to talk to you guys at 7 in the morning or whatever time it is.”
Rendon showed more frustration when asked about his desire to play baseball.
He said, “I have answered your question.” “Then why do you keep bringing it up?”
Rendon has played in just 200 games since signing a seven-year, $245 million deal with the Angels in December 2019. He made the move after spending his first seven seasons with the Nationals and ended his Washington tenure with a World Series title.
While a COVID-shortened 2020 season and various injuries have kept the 33-year-old away from the field since arriving in L.A., he says he’s kept the same approach since first entering the pros more than a decade ago Is.
He said, “To be honest, my enthusiasm has been the same ever since I was selected.” “I was actually deleting old emails because my storage is maxing out. And so I’m deleting old emails. I emailed myself why I wanted to be in the game. This was in 2014. And so about the game My thought process hasn’t changed since then.”
As far as fan perception is concerned, Rendon isn’t worried.
“If they want to make me a certain kind of person because I want to see my family more, I mean, that’s fine,” he said. “They don’t know me. They just know the surface level. Everyone will have their own opinion, you can’t please everyone.”
