Angels' Anthony Rendon saying baseball was not a top priority was 'tone-deaf,' Craig Carton says

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Anthony Rendon told members of the media earlier this week that baseball has "never been a top priority" throughout his career.

The Los Angeles Angels third baseman even admitted he was contemplating getting out of baseball in 2014, his second season in the majors.

"This is a job," Rendon said. "I do this to make a living. My faith, my family comes first before this job. So if those things come before it, I'm leaving."

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Craig Carton, of FOX Sports' "The Carton Show," said on Tuesday that family, of course, comes first, and "I'm very respectful" of those who are religious - but considering Rendon has not played in more than 60 games since his inking a seven-year, $245 million deal in 2019 (he did play 52 of the 60-game season in 2020), his comments came off harsh.

"When a dude like Anthony Rendon, who has a $245 million guaranteed contract with the Anaheim Angels, comes out and says ‘baseball has never been a priority to me,’ I'm saying to myself ‘give that money back and go live your life. It's all good. No one's making you bat .210 and miss 70 games every single year,'" Carton said on OutKick's "Dont @ Me" with Dan Dakich. 

"The average fan of sports is a blue-collar, hard-working man or woman who takes whatever little bit of extra income they have to enjoy the sport and the team they love the most. And when a player is that tone-deaf to the plate of the average fan, it ticks me off.

Anthony Rendon, #6 of the Los Angeles Angels, hits a home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the fourth inning at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on July 1, 2023 in Anaheim, California. (Ronald