Dodgers Team News

Dodgers News: Anthony Rendon Talks About Why Decided Against Los Angeles

File this under somewhat unnecessary, but new Anaheim Angels star third baseman Anthony Rendon explained at least one reason why he wouldn’t have chose the Dodgers in free agency. And it is something of a head-scratcher.

Of course, the report came out that Andrew Friedman and company did not extend Rendon a contract offer at the winter meetings.

Nevertheless, at an introductory press conference with his new team on Saturday, Rendon fielded questions about his experience in off-season free agency. He ultimately settled on 7 years and $245M with the Angels, but was oft-linked to the Dodgers.

Now the wonder is where he would get the feeling that the Dodgers are too Hollywood as it really is out of left field. Despite several rookie faces, most of the team is happily married and looking to do more good in the community over partying late into the night.

Perhaps something came about during the Rendon’s dinner and conversation with manager Dave Roberts that was misunderstood?

Is the Dodgers annual Blue Diamond Gala too much flash? Does Clayton and Ellen Kershaw’s Ping Pong 4 Purpose bring out too many celebrities while raising thousands of dollars for charity? That the Dodgers would be too Hollywood these days seems somewhat laughable. Tommy Lasorda hasn’t managed the team since the 90s… that was a manager that loved the Hollywood limelight.

Surely Rendon will be asked to clarify his comments at some point — at the latest, he’ll be at Dodger Stadium on March 23 for the annual spring training freeway series. Until then fans will wonder what “Hollywood lifestyle” Tony two bags is talking about.

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Clint Pasillas

Clint Pasillas has been writing, blogging, and podcasting about the Los Angeles Dodgers since 2008. Under Clint's leadership as the Lead Editor, Dodgers Nation has grown into one of the most read baseball sites in the world with millions of unique visitors per month. Find him online on Twitter/X or his YouTube channel!

43 Comments

  1. My guess it had something to do with Robert’s in game managing and especially the pitching. And the failed Octobers may be a factor too. But it also boils down to the fact that maybe the Dodgers are not an attractive draw for players right now. And this may mean that players that are everyday type players solidifying a certain position don’t like the idea that their playing time would be compromised and that they would be expected to be a part of Robert’s shuffle board.

    1. Paul, you are right on point. I do believe that Rendon’s agents made him very much aware that the Dodgers use the platoon very often, maybe much too often. I am sure as a top notch player he felt that the only way to stay sharp is to play each and every day. I am fine with that. And, like you, I feel Roberts is relying to much on numbers to dictate his lineup. What struck me as add, AZUL, is that the Dodgers never made Rendon an offer. This raises the question as to where all of the Dodger dollars are going. They certainly are not going to upgrade our team’s talent. Fixing up the stadium for the All Star game is nice, but a solid pitcher or a right-handed bat will be around for a few years; the ASG will be forgotten by September. Go Blue!!!!

      1. BLUE LOU, not only do I say you are totally right on but PD Jr. was indicating the same thing this morning. My point exactly about spending all this $$ on Stadium renovations and prepping for the 2020 ASG and not on the team, which may not have but 1 Dodger on the entire squad. And no doubt the NL team will be very happy to know that the Nat’s manager will be running the team and not Roberts, who saw the NL not only lose the 2 years he managed the AS team but that his own pitchers were the loosing pitcher in both games.

      2. You guys think Robert’s is making all the game time decisions? Its Freidman and his boys that do it. That’s why they never blame the managing. I thought we all new that. Wake up !

        1. It’s why I was actually including both Freidman and Roberts and if I didn’t make that clear, I am now because I have said it before and others have said this as well, that Roberts is the puppet for FO

  2. I don’t blame him. Joc Pederson got cocky, Bellinger show signs of the same. Verdugo up next. Same with Kobe Bryant. It shows by their body language. I wish they would play Baseball and forget the cameras. Also, three more years of Roberts chess games.

    1. Rest assured that many here have indicated that they don’t see the Dodgers ever winning a WS as long as Freidman and Roberts are running the so called show here.

  3. I guess that Rendon really didn’t want to blast the Dodgers by saying the truth,….
    THE DODGERS WERE JUST TOO CHEAP TO MAKE A REAL OFFER!!!
    I’m a long time Dodger fan, now and forever, but we’ve gone through this money thing for way too long now!!!
    Put up or shut up Dodgers,…your time is running out to acquire some good available talent!!

  4. Cmon, the distance between Dodgers stadium and Anaheim is a hour? So Anaheim is all safe and wholesome and has a huge lifestyle difference huh Anthony? Paul has it right. The org runs their team like a all madden fantasy league for Yale graduates! And the players have witnessed Roberts WWF analytics script handed to him by Andy!

    1. Baseball is baseball. Hollywood is irrelevant to baseball. You throw the ball. You catch the ball. You hit the ball. And everyone lives the lifestyle they choose away from the ballpark. So what’s the problem?

      As far as good places to actually play games, Dodger stadium is about the easiest place to play ball. In Philadelphia and New York fans boo their own players regularly. Other places are far less hospitable than Dodger stadium. So not only do you have a laid back LA lifestyle away from the park, you also have it in the park. What could be easier?

      As far as platooning, the Dodgers didn’t platoon Turner at third or Seager at short, and they wouldn’t have platooned Rendon at third either.

      Losing Rendon was huge. He could have taken them to a championship, not just a world series field trip.

      1. If I recall, 1st, 2nd LF, CF and RF all were positions where we saw players in and out of the lineup daily based upon the handedness of the opposing pitcher. And that simply means that too many guys on this team do not have good enough splits against both RH and LH and there lies the platooning

  5. Yeah I wouldn’t play for Roberts either. No respect and doesn’t know how to manage let alone the AS game. Glad he’s not the manager of the AS next yr it was his pitchers who gave up the runs and 2nd baseman who wasn’t even supposed to be there who made an error. If Roberts wasn’t the manager of 2019 AS, muncy wouldn’t have even been there. #yousuckroberts

      1. I don’t care what Rendon said, which was probably taken out of context anyway. He’s a stand up guy who was probably just saying he’s a family man. And he might be the best player in baseball not named Mike Trout.

  6. He’s completely misinformed on how you have to live as a dodger. It sounds like he’s reciting troll comments on social media. However the organization part of his comment is understandable. He saw from the other dugout exactly what Roberts does in big games and I’m sure him and his teammates had a good laugh about Roberts basically made their championship possible. Also I’m sure he knows about all the platooning and even though he himself would not be platooned, he’d likely find himself all over the lineup depending on which team the Dodgers decide to roll out there

    1. I think he knows he wouldn’t have to live the Hollywood lifestyle but maybe he doesn’t want to be on a team with playboys like Bellinger, Jansen, Verdugo, even if they are married or have girlfriends they still act very Hollywood. or guys that don’t want to sacrifice for the team like Maeda who complains about being in the bullpen. I’ve always thought the Dodgers need more Turners, Muncys, Beaty, Kershaw types to win it all

  7. Right on Manny Festo. Right on Paul Dodger and Lou Blue. Rendon remembers a managerial meltdown and he observes the “no contract offers” Friedman “The Mouth” never issued. The organization needs to relieve itself of “The Mouth” and get an action man, a man of his word at the controls. Right now we’re watching a group of top professional baseball players accepting defeat 3 years running and getting comfortable with it.

  8. LA times article on why Rendon skipped White House visit

    Anthony Rendon wanted to make one thing perfectly clear. He did not skip the Washington Nationals’ visit to the White House as any kind of political protest, or out of any objection to President Trump.

    “I wanted to go so bad,” Rendon said. “Obviously, being from Texas, I think you guys know which kinds of views we lean toward.”

    Politics could be one reason for not wanting his family here. Orange County is more reasonable as far as politics. They are more down the middle. Republicans don’t feel persecuted for their beliefs and neither do Democrats

    1. Was thinking the same Tim. He just didn’t want to make it obvious so he phrased it oddly.

  9. How do you pick the Angels over the Dodgers? Do you like losing? Year after year? Do you like a team that threw away a decade on Albert Pujols, among many other incredibly stupid moves. The only thing I can think of is the chance to play with Mike Trout, and the I’ll founded hope that the Angels can build a supporting cast around him. But their historical personnel moves make it highly unlikely that they will be able to build that supporting cast. Wouldn’t you rather go to a team that just needs a little more to be a world champion, especially knowing that you are that little bit more?

    1. Who wants to play for owners that don’t care about baseball or the fans like Moreno does

  10. Rendon hates doing media scrums and being in the limelight. The Dodgers get way more media attention than the Angels. I really believe it was that simple.

  11. I do think Anthony’s response is valid but definitely not the only reason. Everyone has made very good points. It could also be the personnel, the flash, management style, the desire to play with Trout, or the fact they failed in the big show recently.
    I’m an Angel fan and very shocked too. I think the Dodgers need him more then the Angels and Anthony could very well make Dodger blue World series winners. The Angels unlike the Dodgers have a very weak pitching staff and this needs to be addressed before anything else. If I were a Dodger fan, I wouldn’t worry so much. They will be able to find talent at a fraction of the cost in their own farm system. The Dodgers have an exciting team and are still favorites to win in 2020.

  12. Too Hollywood…?! Hmmmmm! Don’t think it’s about the team itself, Dodger fans. I, myself after 59 years burned my Dodger fan card last October but not just about their consistent struggle for second place. Did it ever occur to anyone that it was about the quality of the fans there? The model Dodger fan sorely lacks baseball intelligence. I applaud Anthony Rendon for staying away from not just the team but from the whole L.A. scene and syndrome.
    Orange County is not without its problems either but he made s much better choice. Did it ever occur to anyone he didn’t CARE he wasn’t offered anything by the Dodgers?
    Dream on Dodger fans. This time next year it’ll be the same story.

    1. Unrecognizable fanbase from the 60’s 70’s 80’s.. starting in the 90’s you could see the change, coincidentally that’s when the team began their drought. It’s only gotten worse since. LA people are just very very different now you can really see it when you watch old video on YouTube much better vibe and better quality people in the stands. Gotta wonder what happened to those people, the old ones died yes, but what about everyone else?

    2. Highly doubt you were ever a Dodger fan. Fake news! I’ve been a fan since ‘77 and I’ve met great and dedicated fans at the games. And a vast majority of them are sophisticated and knowledgeable. Haters like yourself will always hate. Go Dodgers!!

  13. In 60 years as a professional franchise the California Disney Angels of Anaheim have been to the world series one time that’s pathetic in the last decade they went to the playoffs once and got swept with the greatest baseball player in the world pathetic pathetic pathetic if that’s not a losing franchise I don’t know what is Angels suck

  14. Rendon is similar to trout in their love for the game. They love the sport and they come to play. They don’t care for flashy spectacles or showing of, or start things (like the dodgers love to do) They are there to PLAY the game. So yes. His comments make 100 percent sense.

    1. What exactly do the Dodgers start? I’d love to hear this. Don’t tell me Puig either that’s just one guy and he’s not even here anymore. Clearly you don’t know these players very well they are good dudes, get to know them more before talking, you clearly are a fan of another team. There’s a lot of things I can’t stand about this organization currently, but the character of most the players isn’t one of them

  15. People love to bash California and Los Angeles by relying on stereotypes. However, if you stereotype THEM based on where THEY come from, they become very offended. Rendon is from Texas. How would he like it if we made assumptions about him and viewed him in a particular way, based solely on that? People are such hypocrites.

    1. Very hypocritical and they don’t even try to hide it. I read comments and go to games from all of the fanbases And I can tell you everyone is the same. They talk the same smack, have the same complaints about their FO etc etc etc

  16. Truth is, he’s still going to have to prove that he’s worthy of being considered the game-changer the Dodgers thought he would be. He’ll be on the wrong side of age 30 next season, and has yet to string together 5 consecutive seasons like the last 2 on his resume to even fully put any questions about his long-term productivity as it relates to the contract he signed to bed. Good player, absolutely. But, a game-changer? Not quite yet. I can think of a guy in Denver who fits the “game-changer” 3B description far better than this guy does.

  17. I understand exactly what Rendon is saying. “Hollywood” is not about distance, but about attitude.

    After being a dedicated Dodger fan for the last 10 years, I’m about ready to trade myself to the Angels. Why?

    1. I think Friedman is running the game, not Robertson. I think Robertson is a talented baseball guy and would like to see his work without Friedman and other executive influence. My diminishing respect for Robertson is not his skills, but the fact that he bows to Friedman, who has failed IMO.

    2. I dislike how the Dodgers have started to embrace every social and political fad that comes up. That’s very Hollywood. The Nike logo on the front of Dodger jersey is offensive to me considering the fact Nike so strongly supported Kaepernick and his damage to his own career and to a lesser degree the NFL. Let’s not mix politics and baseball. Also, the Nike logo opens the door to other ads on baseball uniforms. Budweiser and Native American Casinos will not be far behind. Let’s not go there.

    3. Reason enough to abandon the Dodgers for never-miss TV viewers like myself? Orel Hershiser in the broadcast booth. Joe Davis is fine, except when he feeds that narcissistic monster, Hershiser. He may be knowledgable about pitching, but he is boring. And all stories seem to lead back to him on the mound in 1988. Plus, knowing about pitching is not enough for a color commentator. We want to hear about other positions and we want the backstory on all players. For the love of all things decent, get Hershiser out of the broadcast booth in 2020.

    I’m sure there will be others here who will say not to let the door hit me in the butt as I abandon the Dodgers. Understood. That’s another good reason to leave the Hollywood Dodgers. Angry fans who will attack you in the Dodger parking lot or online.

    1. Everything in your comment is spot on except the Nike thing. That’s not just the Dodgers it’s every team and you said let’s not mix politics with baseball but nike isn’t politics it’s a sports logo. Just because they supported Kap doesn’t make Nike politics. You’ve made it politics

  18. Uummmmmmmmmmmmmm. Maybe because, the angels offered more $$$$$$$$$$$$$?

    No, of course not. It’s some bizarre little quirk in his personality. (say all the non-millionaire fans)

    Riiiiiiiiiight

  19. He isn’t in a Dodger uniform because the Dodgers didn’t offer him enough, so who is too Hollywood??? We need pitching, not another third baseman. He can become anonymous in Anaheim all he wants. No matter how good a hitter he is, he’s not going to make turd shine. Besides, how wonderful have all the big signings for the Angels worked out for them? Dodgers have won their division seven years in a row, Angels have done what on the past seven years.

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