After a season where he hit 34 home runs, 1126 RBIs, 44 doubles, scored 117 runs, and maintained a .319 batting average, helping lead the Washington Nationals to an improbable World Series championship in 2019, Anthony Rendon inked a monumental 70-year, $245 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Teaming up with Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout, the trio appeared to be one of the most formidable lineups in baseball.
However, since then, Rendon’s contract has proven to be disastrous. In his four years with the Angels, he has never played more than 60 games in a season, has posted a sub-.240 batting average for three consecutive years, and his off-field comments have left fans questioning if his $245 million contract was one of the most overpaid mistakes in history.
Most recently, Rendon sparked further outrage among fans with a comment about baseball being more of a job than a passion.
Rendon explained, “It’s never been a top priority for me. This is my job. I do this to make a living. My faith, my family come first before this job.”
While the comment may seem relatively harmless, as nobody’s job should be their #1 priority, considering Rendon has only played 148 total games combined between the last three seasons, there was some expected pushback.
Nevertheless, Diamondbacks’ pitcher Merrill Kelly was there to jump to Rendon’s defense. In an appearance on the Chris Rose Sports podcast, Kelly explained that Rendon is not alone in this thinking, noting that there are plenty of players in the league that are loaded with talent, but do not necessarily love the game.
Merrill Kelly on Anthony Rendon’s comments about baseball not being his top priority:
“If fans think he’s the only guy that views baseball that way, I think they’d be very mistaken” pic.twitter.com/zYUU30nKiM
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) February 28, 2024
Do you think that there was anything particularly wrong with Anthony Rendon’s comments?
