Anthony Rendon is BOOED at his first at-bat since taking a swipe at an A’s fan after refusing to comment on the altercation amid MLB investigation
Los Angeles Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon declined to comment Saturday as Major League Baseball investigates an incident he had with an Oakland Athletics fan Thursday night.
The incident occurred shortly after the final out of the Angels’ 2-1 loss at the Oakland Coliseum on Opening Day.
In a 12-second video of the incident, Rendon grabs the fan’s shirt through a railing in Oakland and accuses him of calling him a ‘b****.’ The fan denied the name-calling before Rendon called him a ‘motherf****r’ and took a swipe at him but missed.
Asked about the incident before Saturday’s afternoon game, Rendon said, ‘I’m sorry, I can’t comment.’ As Rendon jogged onto the field for pregame warm-ups, he was asked what the climate was between him and the fans.
‘Sorry,’ Rendon said as he shrugged his shoulders and jogged away to work out.
Rendon was hampered by injury during the 2022 MLB season, playing a measly 47 games
When he took to the field for the first time in the game, Rendon was reportedly booed heavily throughout his at-bat.
Angels manager Phil Nevin said testy interactions between players and fans aren’t rare.
‘This happens a lot unfortunately,’ Nevin said. ‘A lot of times we just don’t see it. You’re going to hear things all the time.
‘You hear a lot. Right now, I just don’t want to comment on the incident involving Anthony or anything that goes along with it.’
When asked why he couldn´t comment, Nevin pointed to MLB’s ongoing investigation. Nevin also did not think the situation would be a lingering distraction to his players.
‘For the moment maybe. But no I don´t think so,’ Nevin said. ‘One thing I´ve said all along is we’ve got a great group in there.
‘The one thing that I was most proud of last year and then continuing through the spring is the way this team has bonded and gelled together. And they´re all going to stand together now.’
Rendon, 32, was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and a walk on Thursday. The team had Friday off. He was batting cleanup for Saturday’s game.
Rendon has been a big disappointment for the Angels as he begins the fourth season of a seven-year, $245 million deal. He has just 20 homers and 89 RBIs and a .250 average in 158 games over three seasons plus Opening Day.
Last season, a wrist injury helped limit Rendon to 47 games. He batted. 229 with five homers and 24 RBIs.
WARNING – EXPLICIT CONTENT
Third baseman Anthony Rendon was booed as he took to the plate during Saturday’s game
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