Injury-prone Rendon hopes to stay healthy
TEMPE, ARIZ. » Anthony Rendon isn't about to say what anyone wants to hear if he doesn't believe it.
The Angels' embattled third baseman spoke to the media for the first time this spring on Monday, and he reiterated his stance that he views baseball as nothing more than a job.
“It's never been a top priority for me,” Rendon said. “It's a job. I do this to make a living. My faith and my family come first, before this job.”
Rendon conceded that it is “a priority” and that's why he's still here, and why he continues having medical procedures to repair the injuries he's suffered playing baseball.
“I don't want to have surgeries,” said Rendon, who had surgery in 2021 and 2022, but not 2023. “You think I like going under the knife and being in pain the majority of my time? I can't even pick up my kids. I can't walk. You think I enjoy that? I don't want to do that. I want to hang out with my kids. I want to teach them how to ride a bike, but I can't. I can't walk. It (stinks).”
Rendon, 33, said he's always had this opinion. He said this winter he found a 2014 pro and con list he'd written about continuing to play baseball. Now that he has four kids, who spend most of their time at the family home in the Houston area, the pull away from the game has grown stronger.
“Being away from the family, after having kids and knowing and realizing that love that you get from your family, from your spouse, from your kids, that far outweighs anything that you can probably ever accomplish in a job atmosphere,” Rendon said. “So that's what's become more difficult as I've gotten older.”
Manager Ron Washington came to Rendon's defense, saying that nothing he said should be interpreted as if he isn't committed to baseball.
“He wasn't saying he doesn't care about baseball,” Washington said. “He's here. He's fired up. He's ready to go. Let's just watch him and see how it goes. Because he's ready to go, man. I miss my family. I care about my family. He said his family and his faith is first. Nothing wrong with that. Nothing wrong with that.”
Many people can identify with those feelings, but it still likely won't sit well with some fans who are already frustrated with Rendon because of what's become of his Angels career.
He signed a seven-year, $245 million deal prior to the 2020 season, but he's missed at least half of the last three seasons. He had hip surgery in 2021, wrist surgery in 2022 and a fractured shin in 2023.
In between that, Rendon has hit .235 with a .701 OPS over the last three seasons.
Rendon understands that he's going to be criticized by fans, but it doesn't seem to bother him.
“They don't know me,” he said. “They only know the surface. They're a fan. They might know that I'm 6 feet tall or 190 pounds or whatever it might be, but they don't know who I am as an individual if they never sat down and spoke to me. Everyone's gonna have your opinion. You can't make everybody happy. I'm gonna be honest.”
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Washington addressed the team before the first full-squad workout on Monday, saying that he expected that everyone would be motivated because “that's what I do. We'll go find out, because now you gotta get on the field and implement the things I said. So we'll see how the progression works. But almost everybody was here for at least five days, so they understand how we're going about our business. I just want them to take care of business, and the rest to take care of itself.” …
Washington said he hasn't yet decided who will start on the mound for the Angels in their exhibition opener on Saturday against the Dodgers. …
Washington said third base coach Eric Young and first base coach Bo Porter will have equal roles in coaching the outfielders, because he feels that both have too much to offer for one to take a back seat to the other.