Thank you, sir. I completely agree with your sentiment. This is just a side gig for me, and I don't make any cash from it, but I suppose that says it all right there. In the words of Sarah Langs and many others, "baseball is the best."
Great piece. I, too, had a lot of jobs I couldn’t stand. Like King, I walked away from the last one the moment financial security allowed it. Personally. I viewed the King and Rendon situations a bit differently. In King’s case, I sympathized with him more, probably because he was paid so much less in comparison and played pretty much up to his abilities the entire time he was taking up a roster spot. Plus, his comments about baseball just didn’t seem as inflammatory as Rendon’s, or maybe they just landed differently with me because he still seemed to be trying.
I obviously don't know Rendon, so I won't pretend to know his mind. And I don't know if he truly holds the game in contempt or if he's just one of those guys who is really good about putting his foot in his mouth when he talks to the public, but either way, he certainly comes off as a guy who seems completely ungrateful and even antagonistic toward a game that has made him incredibly wealthy. It's fine if he doesn't like the game, but it feels like he wants to crap all over it every chance he gets. King never came off like that, no matter how much he disliked it. Hell, I didn't even know he hated the game until after he retired.
The diff for me feels like: Rendon is pretty obviously an inter-galactic talent when right while my sense from King is that even his ceiling was just okay. (Source: watched him for years and thought Buechele was better in the Pirates' run). Something intangible about King not liking baseball that much just somehow feels right ("yeah that checks out"). The Rendon just grates more.
I loved watching Rendon with the Nats, and you're right, even with the hype around King, Rendon is a far better player, and that matters. And King might have disliked the game, but he didn't go out of his way to let you know. Rendon seems to go out of his way to make these statements. Ironically, they would hit differently if he was still producing the way he did for the Nats. Most of us would probably shrug it off in that case. So what if Rendon isn't living his dream life? He's making tons of money (so he can do whatever he wants when he's done), and he's hitting 40 dingers a year. But when he's constantly hurt, his words are all the more infuriating. I'm not questioning the legitimacy of his injuries or his drive to get back, but considering the things he has said, I can't blame others for doing so.
I do have one caveat that there is probably a mental health discussion to be had surrounding all this or even a deeper examination of cultural expectations around giftedness and occupation.
I feel like Jeff Russell (who pitched for the Rangers mostly) also said something near the end of his career about not really being a baseball fan, that he was just doing it because it paid well. Although a quick Google shows he has been coaching after taking a few years off to spend with his family. I suppose it is much easier than we fans think for the game to turn into a real grind when you're hurting all the time and your kids are growing up without you. Also, Jeff King's BB-Ref picture reminds me of Bob Dylan on the Nashville Skyline cover (and his secondary pic there makes it look like he should have been in the movie Tombstone).
Haha, that is dead-on. I have no idea about King's taste in music or movies, but it sounds like he probably would have preferred to record with Dylan or shoot a western, rather than man 3B. Although, to be fair, even though I'm obviously a big baseball fan who dreamed of playing 3B for the Royals (and would have gladly settled for the Pirates), if you put those three choices in front of me, I'm not sure which one I'd pick either.
Great piece. I try to remember constantly that I’m extremely lucky to have a job in baseball and never take it for granted.
Thank you, sir. I completely agree with your sentiment. This is just a side gig for me, and I don't make any cash from it, but I suppose that says it all right there. In the words of Sarah Langs and many others, "baseball is the best."
Great piece. I, too, had a lot of jobs I couldn’t stand. Like King, I walked away from the last one the moment financial security allowed it. Personally. I viewed the King and Rendon situations a bit differently. In King’s case, I sympathized with him more, probably because he was paid so much less in comparison and played pretty much up to his abilities the entire time he was taking up a roster spot. Plus, his comments about baseball just didn’t seem as inflammatory as Rendon’s, or maybe they just landed differently with me because he still seemed to be trying.
I obviously don't know Rendon, so I won't pretend to know his mind. And I don't know if he truly holds the game in contempt or if he's just one of those guys who is really good about putting his foot in his mouth when he talks to the public, but either way, he certainly comes off as a guy who seems completely ungrateful and even antagonistic toward a game that has made him incredibly wealthy. It's fine if he doesn't like the game, but it feels like he wants to crap all over it every chance he gets. King never came off like that, no matter how much he disliked it. Hell, I didn't even know he hated the game until after he retired.
The diff for me feels like: Rendon is pretty obviously an inter-galactic talent when right while my sense from King is that even his ceiling was just okay. (Source: watched him for years and thought Buechele was better in the Pirates' run). Something intangible about King not liking baseball that much just somehow feels right ("yeah that checks out"). The Rendon just grates more.
I loved watching Rendon with the Nats, and you're right, even with the hype around King, Rendon is a far better player, and that matters. And King might have disliked the game, but he didn't go out of his way to let you know. Rendon seems to go out of his way to make these statements. Ironically, they would hit differently if he was still producing the way he did for the Nats. Most of us would probably shrug it off in that case. So what if Rendon isn't living his dream life? He's making tons of money (so he can do whatever he wants when he's done), and he's hitting 40 dingers a year. But when he's constantly hurt, his words are all the more infuriating. I'm not questioning the legitimacy of his injuries or his drive to get back, but considering the things he has said, I can't blame others for doing so.
I do have one caveat that there is probably a mental health discussion to be had surrounding all this or even a deeper examination of cultural expectations around giftedness and occupation.
Agreed. It's never cut-and-dry, black-and-white, simple as that. Despite how it's often viewed, there's a lot of nuance to this subject.
Great stuff....and I had forgotten about Jeff King.
Thanks for reading!
I'm not going to let a few knuckleheads mess with my love of baseball. I like you dreamed of playing in the show, just didn't work out. ⚾😉
I feel like Jeff Russell (who pitched for the Rangers mostly) also said something near the end of his career about not really being a baseball fan, that he was just doing it because it paid well. Although a quick Google shows he has been coaching after taking a few years off to spend with his family. I suppose it is much easier than we fans think for the game to turn into a real grind when you're hurting all the time and your kids are growing up without you. Also, Jeff King's BB-Ref picture reminds me of Bob Dylan on the Nashville Skyline cover (and his secondary pic there makes it look like he should have been in the movie Tombstone).
Haha, that is dead-on. I have no idea about King's taste in music or movies, but it sounds like he probably would have preferred to record with Dylan or shoot a western, rather than man 3B. Although, to be fair, even though I'm obviously a big baseball fan who dreamed of playing 3B for the Royals (and would have gladly settled for the Pirates), if you put those three choices in front of me, I'm not sure which one I'd pick either.