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Last offseason, the Angels made a big-time splash, as they signed free-agent third baseman Anthony Rendon to a seven-year deal worth nearly a quarter of a billion dollars.
His start with the Angels got off to a rough start, as he missed the first few games with an injury. The first few weeks he played weren’t pleasant either, as he was hitting .103 through the first 12 games he played. After that rough stretch, he turned things around and went back to being the hitter that earned him that big contract.
Over his final 40 games, Rendon was arguably one of the best hitters in all of the American League. He hit .333 and posted an OPS of over 1.000. After that awful start, Rendon settled in and really was looking good for the Angels, showing that he was worth every cent.
What was so remarkable about Rendon’s season, most notably his slow start, was the fact that he was getting on base like crazy. Through the first 16 games, he was hitting only .192, but he had an on-base percentage of .425 (!!!). Ironically, his batting average raised nearly 100 points and his on-base percentage came down, but barely. Rendon finished the season with an OBP of .418 which was the second highest in the American League.
His 38 walks were the fourth most in the AL, even though he missed nearly 15 percent of the season. Rendon’s chase percentage of 16.6 percent was the best of his career, and it was pretty evident when you watched his at-bats.
2020 particulars
Age: 30
Stats: .286/.418/.497/.915, 9 HR, 31 RBI, 151 OPS, 29 R, 54 H, 11 2B,
Salary: $9,444,444
Game of the year
The best moment of the season for Rendon came on September 5 as part of a double-header. What would have been a walk-off three-run home run, Rendon gave the Angels the lead instead because they were the away team as this game was originally supposed to be in Houston. The homer ultimately gave the Angels the victory, but it also gave us one of the funniest calls of the entire baseball season.
Roster status
Rendon will be entering year two of his seven-year deal that he signed last offseason with the Angels. Remember? The one for a cool $245 million.