Rendon focused on team, rather than himself

This story was excerpted from Rhett Bollinger’s Angels Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

ANAHEIM -- If there’s one thing Anthony Rendon doesn’t enjoy doing, it’s talking about himself.

But Rendon made himself available for a rare pregame session with the media on Wednesday to discuss his season so far. Rendon initially deflected questions about his play this year before eventually getting into how he believes he’s fared offensively and defensively.

“Oh man, it’s not about me,” Rendon said. “We got 26 guys on this team. It doesn't matter if I'm doing good or bad, man. It's if we win. It's called a team sport. It’s all good. I’m just happy to be here and be with the guys and help them win.”

Rendon has had an interesting season offensively, as he remains one of the game’s most patient hitters and doesn’t strike out much. But he hasn’t hit for power this year, with just one homer and three doubles in 122 plate appearances. Rendon is hitting .292/.418/.354 with 19 RBIs in 28 games and said hitting homers has never been a major part of his game.

“Would it make any difference if I had 10 homers and less RBIs or one homer and more RBIs?” Rendon said. “I think if we’re contributing, homers aren’t the only category. I’ve never been a home run hitter. I’m not Tony four-bags.”

Angels manager Phil Nevin believes Rendon’s power was sapped after being hit on his left shoulder by a fastball from Blue Jays closer Jordan Romano on April 9. But he believes Rendon is starting to show more power, as evidenced by hitting his first homer of the year on Sunday. Rendon is hitting .407 in eight games in May.

“That shoulder when he got hit by Romano affected his swing for a little bit and I think even when he got healthy, he built habits, and it took a little bit to get out of there,” Nevin said. “I loved when he threw his hands in and hit the home run the other day. I think that's coming. I've seen some more aggressive, stronger swings recently. But situationally, I'm not sure there's a better hitter in the game than Anthony.”

Rendon has also had a strange year defensively. He’s made several Gold Glove-caliber plays but has also made several costly miscues, including seven errors to lead all Major League third basemen. Rendon, though, continues to do defensive drills with infield coach Benji Gil l before each game and isn’t concerned about his defense.

“We’re just going to keep on working,” Rendon said. “It’s part of the game. I’m human. I just feel like I’ve had a lot of bad hops, in-between hops and weird plays. It’s not going to keep on happening all year, so I’ll just keep on grinding.”

Nevin believes Rendon just needs more time to get acclimated defensively after playing in just 157 combined games from 2020-22, including just 47 last year because of a right wrist injury that required surgery.

“When you look inside the numbers defensively, he's still elite when he goes to his left,” Nevin said. “I know the errors he's made and it's bothered him. You see him getting more and more work. He hasn't been out there really in two years and the consistency of that. I'm not worried about his defense, at all.”

Rendon, 32, did reach an impressive career mark on Wednesday, however, getting to 10 years of service time. The Angels held a celebration for Rendon, who remains under contract through 2026 after signing a seven-year deal worth $245 million before the 2020 season.

“To get 10 years in this league, it's just a credit to him,” Nevin said. “You don’t accomplish the things Tony has like winning the World Series and being NLCS MVP without work. Obviously, the talent is there. But he puts a lot of work in his game and cares about this, which is contrary to what a lot of people think about him. He really cares and I’ve seen a different guy in terms of leadership and wanting to win this year.”