{"id":69764,"date":"2024-04-03T20:22:02","date_gmt":"2024-04-04T00:22:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=69764"},"modified":"2024-04-03T20:22:02","modified_gmt":"2024-04-04T00:22:02","slug":"rendon-angels-season-ending-injury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/04\/03\/rendon-angels-season-ending-injury\/","title":{"rendered":"Former All-Star Needs to (Finally) Give the Angels a Full Season"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>There are three sure things in life: death, taxes, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/r\/rendoan01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-04-03_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Anthony Rendon<\/a> will suffer a season-ending injury. Ever since <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2019\/12\/12\/anthony-rendon-signs-with-the-los-angeles-angels\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">signing a seven-year, $245 million contract<\/a> with the Los Angeles Angels in December 2019, he\u2019s been largely missing in action. His walk-up song should be Dire Straits\u2019 \u201cMoney For Nothing.&#8221;<br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/GjJ6d8rinkU?si=7mc1zIl-IxPXSGmn\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><br \/>\nOK, maybe that\u2019s a bit harsh. Some guys just seem to have bad luck with injuries. Others get injured because they play hard. By all accounts, Rendon, 33, does play hard once the umpire yells, \u201cPlay ball!\u201d Rendon won the Washington Nationals Hard and Hustle Award in 2017. However, the fact remains that as of the close of Tuesday\u2019s action, he\u2019s played 205 games for the Angels since his arrival in 2020. That\u2019s the equivalent of less than a season and a half. Rendon played more games in the COVID-shortened 2020 season (52) than he did in either 2022 (47) or 2023 (43). His last hit was nine months ago.<\/p>\n<h2>Anthony Rendon Must Avoid a Season-Ending Injury<\/h2>\n<h3>Rendon&#8217;s Dossier<\/h3>\n<p>Check out Rendon\u2019s history of injuries that resulted in stays on the injured list since signing the big contract:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>April 12, 2021 \u2013 Rendon suffers a strained groin.<\/li>\n<li>May 5, 2021 \u2013 Rendon <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/news\/anthony-rendon-to-injured-list-with-knee-injury\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">fouls a pitch off his knee<\/a>, resulting in a contusion.<\/li>\n<li>July 6, 2021 \u2013 Rendon strains a left hamstring.<\/li>\n<li>August 4, 2021 \u2013 The Angels announce Rendon would need surgery to repair his right hip and would be out for the season.<\/li>\n<li>June 17, 2022 \u2013 Rendon <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/mlb\/story\/_\/id\/34109621\/los-angeles-angels-veteran-anthony-rendon-season-ending-wrist-surgery\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">aggravates a right wrist injury<\/a> and misses the remainder of the season.<\/li>\n<li>July 4, 2023 \u2013 Rendon fouls a pitch off his shin, causing a bone bruise (according to the Angels) or a fractured tibia (according to Rendon), <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2023\/08\/24\/anthony-rendon-fall-mvp-caliber\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">another season-ending injury<\/a> once again.<\/li>\n<li>March 3, 2024 \u2013 Rendon reports \u201cdiscomfort\u201d in his groin but was ready for Opening Day.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>&#8220;It&#8217;s a Job&#8221;<\/h3>\n<p>The latter injury wouldn\u2019t be a big deal except for Rendon\u2019s history and some ill-conceived remarks preceding it. On February 19, he told the assembled media, \u201c(Baseball\u2019s) never been a top priority for me. It\u2019s a job. I do this to make a living. My faith and family come first, before this job.\u201d All teams teach their players about public relations and dealing with the media. Rendon must have been absent that day, too, with an injury. There was nothing wrong with his remarks, per se. Of course, only a fool would put a job before his faith and family. But he could have easily added something to the effect of, <em>I\u2019ll always give this job the maximum effort. My goal is to make the Angels champions again and I won\u2019t rest until it\u2019s achieved.<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Anthony Rendon is now 0-for-19 this year. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Ok10as3nt0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/Ok10as3nt0<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Codify (@CodifyBaseball) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CodifyBaseball\/status\/1775327531639722456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 3, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>This didn\u2019t play well with the Angels fans or the local media. Of the groin injury, their feeling was, here we go again. Old quotes where Rendon said baseball was \u201ctoo long and boring\u201d and the season too long were dug up. Former teammate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/p\/papeljo01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-04-03_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jonathan Papelbon<\/a> criticized him for \u201chating\u201d baseball and suggested it was hard to get him motivated to play. Whatever the case, when Rendon has played, he\u2019s hit .242\/.352\/.388 for the Angels after hitting .290\/.369\/.490 for the Washington Nationals. His rare defenders among Angels fans posit that he\u2019s hit on bad luck, pointing to his xBA based on his exit velocity. At this point, most Angels fans are more concerned about Rendon&#8217;s exit velocity out of Anaheim. That\u2019s not likely, however. Not with three more years remaining on the contract at $38.5 million per year. Not with the penchant Rendon has for the annual season-ending injury.<\/p>\n<h3>A Fool and His Money . . .<\/h3>\n<p>Let\u2019s discuss the Angels\u2019 role in all of this. They should have learned their lesson about long-term contracts for players in their 30s. Let\u2019s reflect on how their deal with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/p\/pujolal01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-04-03_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Albert Pujols<\/a> worked out. The former St. Louis Cardinals slugger was signed to a 10-year, $240 million deal by the Angels in December 2011 when he was nearly 32. From 2001-11 with St. Louis, he hit an astonishing .328\/.421\/.617, with 445 HR, 1,329 RBI, and an OPS+ of 170. He was the 2001 NL Rookie of the Year, a three-time MVP, a nine-time All-Star, and a six-time Silver Slugger Award winner. He won a batting title and led the National League in home runs twice. His first four years with the Angels measured up to his production with the Cardinals. However, over 10 seasons with the Angels, he hit .256\/.311\/.447, 222 HR, 783 RBI, and an OPS+ of 108.<\/p>\n<p>The owner\u2019s sin here has been committed by more teams besides the Angels. It\u2019s paying a player for what he did with his previous team, as opposed to projecting what he\u2019ll do for his current team and paying him accordingly. Pujols\u2019s contract took him to age 41 when he had no chance of producing as he had in his prime. In Rendon\u2019s case, he was paid based on his best season, which he was unlikely to duplicate again. In 2019 while earning a World Series ring with Washington, he hit .319\/.412\/.598, 34 HR, and an MLB-leading 126 RBI, all career highs by significant margins.<\/p>\n<h3>The Last Word<\/h3>\n<p>Is it fair for Angels fans to be so rough on Rendon? He\u2019s not trying to get injured and it\u2019s not like he enjoys having surgeries. After all, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/t\/troutmi01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-04-03_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mike Trout<\/a> is also under a lucrative contract for $37 million a year with the Angels through 2030. He\u2019s had his share of injuries, too. Trout played in just 36 games in 2021 and 82 games last year. But he\u2019s well-liked and won\u2019t get booed in his home ballpark. \u00a0The difference is that Trout has put up astounding numbers when he\u2019s played, making the All-Star team 11 times, winning a Rookie of the Year Award, three MVP Awards, and nine Silver Sluggers. Not to mention that Trout has more PR sense and represents everything right about baseball.<br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/XN8zVfSwRHE?si=CXVM451ho5ia9oxv\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><br \/>\nOn the other hand, as noted, Rendon has made some statements that were best kept to himself. He\u2019s brawled with a fan. Only he knows what\u2019s in his mind, whether he truly hates the game, and if so, whether that prevents him from giving his all between the white lines. The bottom line is with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/o\/ohtansh01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-04-03_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Shohei Ohtani<\/a> gone for greener pastures, Rendon needs to avoid another season-ending injury and produce if the Angels are to sniff contention in 2024.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Photo Credit: \u00a9 Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There are three sure things in life: death, taxes, and Anthony Rendon will suffer a season-ending injury. Ever since signing a seven-year, $245 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels in December 2019, he\u2019s been largely missing in action. His walk-up song should be Dire Straits\u2019 \u201cMoney For Nothing.&#8221; OK, maybe that\u2019s a bit harsh. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5010,"featured_media":69776,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16,1071],"tags":[625,1261,37,248,2178],"class_list":["post-69764","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-angels","category-mlb","tag-albert-pujols","tag-anthony-rendon","tag-jonathan-papelbon","tag-mike-trout","tag-shohei-ohtani"],"modified_by":"Lewis Masella, Site Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69764","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5010"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69764"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69764\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69764"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}