3 seasons in the making, Rendon turns a page

ANAHEIM -- Every day, Anthony Rendon is reminded. Because the trophy’s sitting right there.

Well, to be clear, not the exact Commissioner’s Trophy from the Nationals’ 2019 championship run. It’s a replica. But its place in his Southern California home is enough to make the stoic Rendon remember. Remember the days of raking alongside Trea Turner and Juan Soto, the late-season dogfight to even make the playoffs, the hoisting of the World Series trophy after a seven-game win over the Houston Astros.

When asked if he was sentimental about facing his former team -- for the first time since joining the Angels in the offseason following that title -- Rendon smirked.

“No,” he deadpanned before the Angels' 3-0 victory over Washington on Friday night at Angel Stadium.

But the memories still linger.

“It’s a constant reminder of something that spectacular; you want to hold onto that,” Rendon said of his replica trophy. “It’s something you want to remember. And now, bring that to here [with the Angels].”

The team Rendon faced Friday was similar to his Nationals clubs in name only. Familiar faces were few and far between, ghosts of the past floating on a 9-19 ballclub.

Two years and change into a seven-year, $245 million deal with the Angels, the third baseman is focused on the future -- helping a playoff-untested roster “frickin’ win games,” as he put it. But that 2019 team is a part of him, a part he doesn’t want to let go.

“We were in the playoffs almost every year, or maybe every other year, and had a lot of older guys … so I just shut up and watched them the whole time,” Rendon said of his time with Washington. “Now [with the Angels], I’m one of the older guys. I unfortunately am, now. That’s my job, that’s my duty, to teach these guys, because I’m not going to be there forever.”

According to Angels manager Joe Maddon, Rendon’s just not flashy. Not a yeller. He’s a slow talker, a steady presence at team meals, a quiet mentor.

“Anthony’s one of those guys that can do that,” said Nationals manager Dave Martinez.

Rendon’s trademark beard’s about the same length, and he’s still draped in red. He still lets off jokes dripping in sarcasm.

“There’s more media left than players left over there,” he cracked in a pregame press conference.

But this Rendon, of a new coast, is different. More reflective, perhaps. His family has grown since Washington, from one child to four.

“It’s awesome,” he said. “Change is good.”

Rendon is a different player now, too, gone from one of the most fearsome hitters in the league to a veteran trying to regain his legs at the dish. After a rough 2021 that saw him undergo season-ending hip surgery in July, an 0-for-4 night against his former team dipped his average this year to .212.

“I feel like I’m getting there … getting used to a new body, new hip, new legs,” Rendon said pregame.

Even with the years removed, the injuries, the move, the flickers of a Nationals flame haven’t been completely snuffed. Rendon shared laughs with Soto pregame and gave a quick glance and smile in his first at-bat to Angels catcher and former teammate Kurt Suzuki.

The trophy remains. The emotion it carries, in one way or another, remains too.