Anthony Rendon is not doing himself any favors with his latest comments.
The oft-injured Los Angeles Angels third baseman made headlines for what he said during a recent appearance on “The Jack Vita Show.” Rendon called for Major League Baseball to shorten the season, saying that 162 games was far too many.
“We gotta shorten the season, man,” said Rendon. “There’s too many dang games — 162 games and 185 days or whatever it is. Man, no. We got to shorten this bad boy up.”
While Rendon was laughing a bit when he made those remarks, he still got skewered on social media as a result. Many pointed to the fact that Rendon has missed 100 or more games in each of the last three years, so he himself is already playing shortened seasons.
Others noted that Rendon is getting $38M per year through 2026 to spend most of his time not playing … and yet is still finding ways to complain.
Even former All-Star closer Jonathan Papelbon, Rendon’s one-time teammate on the Washington Nationals, went in on Rendon for the comments.
He told Rendon to do his job and play the whole year or otherwise give back part of his salary.
Major League Baseball has had a 162-game season since the early 1960s. With 100-win teams such as the Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves and Baltimore Orioles all losing last season in the divisional round, there may be a case that the regular season means less than it ever has before.
But for it to come from Rendon, a guy who already doesn’t play (and doesn’t even act professionally while not playing), the argument rings pretty hollow.
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