Template:Infobox MLB player
Edgar Enrique Rentería [ren-ter-EE-ah] (born August 7, 1975 in Barranquilla, Colombia) is a shortstop in Major League Baseball who plays for the Atlanta Braves (as of 2006). He is also the first Colombian to play in the World Series.
Profile
Rentería has a compact swing and drives the ball to all fields. He is a patient, fundamentally-sound hitter, particularly adept at driving the ball to the right side. Like most hitters with the innate ability to hit the other way, Renteria has spent most of his career batting second in lineups. On the bases, he reads pitchers' moves well, usually getting good jumps which account for his consistent stolen base totals. Although widely regarded a shy person, Renteria often takes time out of his busy life to meet with fans and sign autographs. This fan-friendly nature, in fact, inspired a group of Atlanta fans to dress up in egg costumes, calling themselves Edgar's Eggs.
Accomplishments
- Hit a 2 out single in the 1997 World Series in the bottom of the eleventh inning to score Craig Counsell and win the World Series for the Florida Marlins.
Edgar Rentería's 1997 World Series triumph.
- Five-time All-Star (1998, 2000, 2003-04, 2006)
- Two-time Gold Glove Award winner (2002-03)
- Three-Time Silver Slugger Award winner for shortstop (2000, 2002-03)
- Had a 24 game hitting streak spanning the last game of 2005 and his first 23 games of 2006. His 23 game single season streak was the second longest ever to start a season.
- Renteria is one of only three players to be the last hitter of two World Series, having won the 1997 Series with a walk-off RBI single and ended the 2004 World Series with a groundout to the pitcher. Boss Schmidt of the Detroit Tigers ended the 1907 World Series by popping up and the 1908 World Series by grounding out. Goose Goslin struck out to end the 1925 World Series and won the 1934 World Series with a walk-off RBI single.
- In addition to being the last hitter of two World Series, Edgar also has completed a rare feat-to make the consecutive last and first at bats of two seasons. At the end of the 2004 World Series, with the St.Louis Cardinals, Renteria made the final at-bat with a groundout. Also, he made the first at bat of the 2005 season, in the season opening game, with the Boston Red Sox.
Lowlights
The 2005 season was a disappointing one for Rentería. Replacing fellow Colombian and fan favorite Orlando Cabrera at shortstop, who had jump started the World Series winning team the year before, and Nomar Garciaparra before him, was not an easy job. Rentería committed a league-leading and career high 30 errors in 2005, blaming the "demand" of the Boston fans and media, and poor conditions of the field. He also pointed to an injury when he "pulled [his] lower back and leg" [1] Although much maligned for his defensive problems in 2005, Rentería scored 100 runs in a season for the first time in his career. Ironically, the season before, Rentería was the Cardinals' final out in the World Series when the Boston Red Sox won their first championship since 1918. The next year, he was the last out in the American League Division Series for the Red Sox when the Chicago White Sox defeated Boston and went on to win the World Series. Rentería was traded by Theo Epstein after the 2005 season to the Atlanta Braves for prospect Andy Marte. Healthy and seemingly more relaxed in 2006, Rentería has returned to the form that made him such a valuable shortstop for many years in the National League. Due to his poor play, Renteria also became fodder for the local sports shows. WEEI (the Boston Sports Radio Station) nicknamed him "Diarreah and Rent-A-Wreck."
References
See also
- NL Gold Glove winners at shortstop
- Players from Colombia in MLB
- Famous Colombian sport people
- Famous Colombians
External links
- Baseball-Reference.com - Major league career statistics
- BaseballLibrary - biography
- ESPN - profile and daily updates
- Colombian Professional League "teamrenteria"
| Preceded by: Orlando Cabrera |
NL Shortstop Gold Glove Winner 2002 - 2003 |
Succeeded by: César Izturis |