Ex-MLB star rips Angels' Anthony Rendon over baseball 'job' comments

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Jonathan Papelbon, a six-time All-Star and World Series champion pitcher who retired after the 2016 season, ripped Anthony Rendon after the Los Angeles Angels player said baseball was not his top priority.

Papelbon, who was on the Washington Nationals with Rendon in 2015 and 2016, said Tuesday that the third baseman just "doesn’t give a s---" on an episode of "Foul Territory."

"Every single day this guy shows up to go out, it was like a chore," the former MLB closer said. "He strictly got away with just raw athleticism and just raw talent. And you can do that … but there’s a reason why he’s not as successful as he really, truly could be. 

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Los Angeles Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon, #6, runs on the field before a game against the Oakland Athletics at RingCentral Coliseum in Oakland, California, May 15, 2022. (Robert Edwards-USA TODAY Sports)

"He’s got more raw talent than the three of us combined, but he just doesn’t give a s---."

Rendon signed a seven-year, $245 million contract with the Angels before the 2020 season – right after the Nationals won the World Series.

"I knew that when he became a free agent … I was like, ‘whoever gets that dude is going to get totally bamboozled; it’s going to be the worst deal in history,’" Papelbon said. "And it’s proven that way."

Rendon ruffled feathers with his comments about the sport earlier this week.

Former Red Sox pitcher Jonathan Papelbon gets ready to throw out the first pitch before Game 3 of the ALCS against the Houston Astros at Fenway Park on Oct. 18, 2021 in Boston. (Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)

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