A rangy shortstop with a penchant for delivering clutch hits, Renteria was best known for driving home the winning run of the 1997 World Series in dramatic, sudden-death fashion.
The Colombian native was nearly three months shy of legal drinking age when the Florida Marlins called him up from Triple-A Charlotte in May 1996. He finished second to L.A’s Todd Hollandsworth in NL Rookie of the Year balloting after batting .309 with 16 steals and 68 runs scored in 106 games.
In 1997, Renteria’s steady glove and speedy feet helped Florida claim the NL’s wild-card spot. Foreshadowing his Fall Classic heroics, he won Game One of the Division Series by singling off San Francisco stopper Roberto Hernandez with two outs in the ninth inning to plate Marlins’ backstop Charles Johnson.
The stage was much bigger though when Renteria came to the plate in Game Seven of the World Series with the score knotted at 2-2 in the bottom of the 11th inning. Renteria lined a sharp single up the middle off Cleveland’s Charles Nagy, driving home Craig Counsell and making Florida champions of the baseball world.
Renteria survived one more season in Florida as the franchise dismantled its high-priced free-agent core in favor of inexpensive neophytes. “I was a 22-year-old veteran,” he said of playing for the gutted team.
The Marlins dealt Renteria to the St. Louis Cardinals in December 1998 for pitchers Braden Looper, Carlos Almanzar and shortstop Pablo Ozuna. The young shortstop was sorry to leave the heavily Latino-influenced city where he had felt at home. “I’m going to miss Miami,” he said. “The fans in Miami there love me. I think I might have a little problem in St. Louis because I think they don’t have Latin food over there. Colombia is close to Miami.”
In 1999, his first season with the Redbirds, Renteria batted .275 with 92 runs scored and 37 steals. He celebrated his first trip back to Florida by launching two home runs at Pro Player Stadium on May 31, 1999.
The following year he set career highs with 16 home runs, 76 RBIs and 94 runs scored. Batting first or second most of the season, he set the table for the high-powered Cardinals’ offense that won the NL Central and reached the League Championship Series.
After struggling terribly during the first half of 2001, Renteria heated up after the All-Star break, but still finished with career lows in batting average, hits and runs scored while seeing his stolen base totals drop for the fourth straight season.
(AGL)
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FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY
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| » September 30, 1997:
SS Edgar Renteria's 2-out single in the bottom of the 9th scores Charles Johnson with the winning run as the Marlins defeat the Giants, 2-1, in the opener of their playoff series.
» October 26, 1997: The Indians jump out to a 2-0 lead over Florida, but the Marlins claw their way back and tie the score in the bottom of the 9th on a sacrifice fly by Craig Counsell. In the last half of the 11th, SS Edgar Renteria gets his 3rd hit of the game, driving home Counsell with the winning run, as Florida wins Game seven by a score of 3-2. The Marlins thus become the fastest team in baseball history to win a World Series title, three years quicker than the 1969 Mets. P Livan Hernandez is named Most Valuable Player of the Series.
» December 14, 1998:
The Cardinals acquire SS Edgar Renteria from the Marlins in exchange for SS Pablo Ozuna and pitchers Armando Almanza and Braden Looper. » August 1, 2002:
A.J. Burnett (11–7) fires his 4th shutout of the year, beating the Cardinals, 4–0, on four hits. The high point for St. Louis is a 6th inning triple play (9–6–3), just the 11th in history started by a right fielder. With runners on 1st and 2B, J.D. Drew snags Eric Owens' line drive and throws to SS Edgar Renteria who steps on 2B and relays to first baseman Tino Martinez. Jay Buhner was the last right fielder to start a triple play, accomplishing the feat for the 1992 Mariners.
» September 29, 2002:
The Cardinals win their 97th, beating the Brewers, 4–0. Andy Benes pitches five innings before leaving with a back twinge. Wayne Franklin pitches seven innings for the Brewers. Edgar Renteria knocks in the game's 1st run in the 8th with the 1st of two RBIs. He finishes with 82 RBIs, the highest for a Bird SS since Doc Lavan's 82 in 1921. Albert Pujols has no RBIs, but finishes with 127, one behind National League leader Lance Berkman. Pujols is the first batter since Ted Williams in 1939–40 to drive in more than 250 runs in his first two seasons in the majors. Pujols drove in 257 runs in his first two campaigns. Just four big–leaguers have posted 250 or more RBIs in their first two years in the majors. Joe DiMaggio holds the record with 292 ribbies in his first two; Dale Alexander with 272, is in 2nd place. |
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