Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon will not face charges stemming from an incident with a fan at Oakland Coliseum on March 30. An Oakland Police Department spokesperson said this week, without naming Rendon, the case is closed.
The Police Department investigated a misdemeanor assault and misdemeanor battery, according to a redacted incident report received by The Times. Rendon was not named in the report, but it listed a person wearing an Angels uniform, location and time of the altercation. The police spokesperson also confirmed that no victim ever came forward.
Two videos of Rendon went viral showing him grabbing a fan’s shirt and cursing at the fan, who heckled Rendon as the Angels were coming off the field after their season-opening game with the Athletics. Before the next game, Rendon declined to comment about the incident.
Major League Baseball conducted its own investigation and suspended Rendon for four games and fined him an undisclosed amount. The initial suspension was for five games, but after Rendon elected to appeal, it was reduced by a game.
“My emotions got the best of me,” Rendon told reporters in Seattle after MLB’s suspension was announced. “I’m usually pretty good about interacting with fans … have fun with it. But the gentleman, we spoke on the phone, and we both apologized about what had happened. And so we’re both ready to move forward.”
Rendon, who is hitting .301 in 30 games this season, has also missed time due to a left groin strain that landed him on the injured list on May 15. He is expected to return during the Angels’ next homestand, which begins on Tuesday.
