In Defense of Anthony Rendon

The Myth of the Grateful Ballplayer 

AP Photo/John McDonnell

A few weeks ago, the Los Angeles Angels announced that Anthony Rendon would be getting hip surgery - which, from past experience, means we can assume that he’ll be out for the entire 2025 season. This news follows four extremely expensive, famously injury-riddled seasons in which Rendon has been paid 140 million dollars to play in only 205 games. Baseball fans online responded to this news with a torrent of vitriol directed at Rendon.

Most of the complaints read along these lines:

He’s lazy/a bum

He hates baseball

He’s doing this on purpose

Of course, this situation has been frustrating for the fans and embarrassing for the team, but still, it’s been difficult for me to understand exactly why so many Angels fans hate Rendon so much. Instead of becoming a laughingstock or warning tale (which is usually what happens after a spectacularly bad contract), Rendon has instead been blamed again and again for being the sole reason for the Angels’ poor performance and, more notably, their inability to make the playoffs with Trout and Ohtani. Some fans have even accused Rendon of faking his injuries to get out of playing.

At the crux of this hatred, I believe, is the very simple fact that Anthony Rendon does not behave the way that baseball fans think players should behave. He doesn’t perform his hustle (in fact, he has a reputation for an emotionless style of play). He doesn’t showcase the “Nothing but baseball” attitude that endears us to our more likeable stars. He certainly does not take part in the long-standing baseball tradition of eyewash.

Even before his injuries, Rendon never made a habit of saying the “right” things or even normal things to reporters. After winning the World Series with the Nationals, he told the media that he was happy but that, “I feel like there’s bigger things going on in this world.”

His quotes read a little more inflammatory now that he isn’t playing. Last season, Rendon told reporters that baseball “has never been a top priority” (he listed his faith and family as coming first), and that quote spun out into stories about Rendon not caring about baseball at all. Once, he dodged questions about an injury by telling The Athletic’s Sam Blum, “No habla inglés today,” which fans took as snide.

To be fair to the fans, Rendon’s answers can be read, in the broader context of his history with the Angels franchise, as dismissive to those who care deeply about the team’s standing and future. But to be fair to Rendon, he’s clearly never been interested in playing the press game, and it must be annoying to be constantly needled by the press and fans about your health progress. (And to be fair to the press, it’s their job to get the news.)

Fans want Rendon to play the part of the sorry ballplayer, to talk about how grateful he is for his career and for the fans who care about his team. For him to say that baseball is not his number one priority, to blow off reporters, to have negotiated a contract for more money than he ended up being worth, seems like an unforgivable crime. Especially to those who believe that if only they had that opportunity, they would be forever grateful (and personally would never get annoyed by press or frustrated by difficult recovery after difficult recovery).

Though injuries and handling the press can be frustrating, it is true that other players don’t react the way that Rendon reacts. One interesting parallel to Rendon’s case is his teammate Mike Trout. Trout has also been injury prone the past few years (In fact, he only played 29 games last season), but if you ask any fan, with Trout – it’s different because Mike Trout clearly wants to play. And that clear performance of want (not that I think it’s just a performance, Trout obviously loves baseball) is what endears him to the fans, because his behavior reflects what a fan wants to see.

It’s nice to think that the guys who are lucky enough to play baseball for a (very good) living adore it with their whole being. It’s less nice to see guys imply (even inadvertently) that they don’t give a shit. However, while it would be easy for Rendon to parrot the lines that thousands of ballplayers have parroted before him (Believe me, I’m just as frustrated as the fans. I hate that I can’t get out there, and I’m working hard on my recovery every day), I also don’t think he should have to just for our gratification. Eyewash, while nice, is not part of the job of being a ballplayer. And that’s what baseball is for ballplayers - a job.

At the end of the day, we love baseball because we’re fans. For the players, baseball isn’t a break from work; it is work. Work that takes you away from your family, robs you of your privacy, and takes a heavy toll on your body. And while Rendon doesn’t actually need my defending (he has gotten paid a lot of money), there was no way for the Angels or Rendon to have known the extent of his future injuries when they signed him. Rendon was simply asking for what he was worth at the time, and the Angels paid. Sure, it didn’t work out, but that’s the risk of long-term contracts. It isn’t Rendon’s fault that his body is no longer cooperating, and it certainly isn’t an attitude problem that has led to his hip surgery.

Yes, I think ballplayers should be grateful for their jobs, but they shouldn’t have to perform their gratefulness just to make fans happy. And while it’s nice to believe that all ballplayers love their jobs as much as we imagine we would love their jobs if we had them, I just don’t think that we can or should hold it against them when they don’t.