Red Sox nation has yet to fully accept Edgar Renteria, the man who replaced both Orlando Cabrera and Nomar Garciaparra.
On Memorial Day, I was walking on Thoreau Street in Concord having spent the afternoon at Walden Pond. I came upon a home where a game of catch was being played by father and son at the side of the house. As the house was facing the street I decided to make a point of slowing down. Not because I wanted to observe the action but because I had a feeling that the kid’s throw might hit me in the temple. While I managed to escape any harm, the ball sailed over his father’s head and went out into the street and disappeared in some bushes. What the father then said stuck with me this entire week.
“C’mon Renteria.”
The 2005 baseball season is only one-third complete and already the name Edgar Renteria has come to be associated with disappointment and failure in New England. This despite the fact that the Boston Red Sox shortstop had become a one-man wrecking crew in the Bronx over the weekend. Renteria went 10 for 12 against the despised New York Yankees, hitting two homeruns, including a grand slam, in Boston’s 17-1 romp over the Yankees two Saturdays ago. Until last Saturday, the Yankees had not won a game since the drubbing, prompting Yankee owner George Steinbrenner to have a conference call with manager Joe Torre and general manager Brian Cashman. Renteria is as responsible as anyone for possibly placing a dagger through the heart of the Yankees this season. One would think that a Red Sox player who has his way with the Bronx Bombers would be revered in this part of the country. Yet Renteria has not been embraced by Red Sox Nation.
Now I must admit that I, too, had misgivings about the Red Sox’ decision to sign Renteria to a four year, $40 million contract last December. Don’t get me wrong — Edgar Renteria is a great ballplayer. A sample of his career highlights:
– Got the game winning hit in Game 7 of the 1997 World Series, giving the Florida Marlins their first World Series championship.
– Has been selected to the National League All-Star team four times, representing the Marlins in 1998 and the St. Louis Cardinals in 2000, 2003 and 2004.
– Won 2 Gold Gloves at shortstop for the Cardinals in 2002 and 2003.
– Has appeared in the post-season five times with the Marlins and Cardinals, including a World Series with each team.
– Had best overall season in 2003 with a .330 batting average (4th in the National League), 13 homeruns, 100 runs batted in (RBI) and 34 stolen bases.
– Entered the 2005 season with a respectable .289 career batting average and 1423 hits.
Renteria, who turns 30 on August 7th, is in the prime of his career. If he plays another decade and maintains his production, he has a legitimate shot at collecting 3000 hits, which would make him a shoo-in for Cooperstown. That would make Renteria the first Colombian to be inducted into Baseball’s Hall of Fame.
So what’s not to like?
There are two things to consider.
First, after winning their first World Series in 86 years, the Red Sox lost some key players such as Pedro Martinez and Derek Lowe, but also signed free agents such as former Yankees nemesis David Wells, Wade Miller and Matt Clement. None of these signings caused much controversy. However, Renteria’s signing hit a nerve with people because it was perceived as a slap in the face to Orlando Cabrera, the Red Sox shortstop during their World Series run.
Now Cabrera’s history with the Red Sox was brief. He was acquired from the Montreal Expos at the end of July in the deal that sent one-time Red Sox superstar Nomar Garciaparra to the Chicago Cubs. Cabrera, who also hails from Colombia, played in only 58 regular season games for the Sox, hitting .294 with 6 homeruns and 31 RBIs. Yet Cabrera in a space of three months helped to do with the Sox what Garciaparra could not do in seven and a half seasons. Cabrera’s happy-go-lucky, man of a thousand handshakes nicely contrasted Garciaparra’s sulky disposition. Cabrera made his legend in Boston in late September. He had to fly back to Colombia when a relative fell ill, but flew all night to return to Boston in the middle of a critical game against the Baltimore Orioles. Cabrera looked wired — as if he had not slept in days. His adrenaline numbed any pain he might have had. He was determined to do something and he did with a 12th inning homerun that gave the Sox a crucial victory en route to the American League Wild Card spot. During the post-season, Cabrera hit a respectable .288 and knocked in 11 runs. The fans have not forgotten him for his hustle and his smile. Surely, this warranted an effort on the part of the Sox to make a vigorous effort to sign him to a long term deal, after languishing in Montreal for seven and a half seasons playing in nearly empty ballparks. Cabrera is also in the prime of his career and is a mere nine months older than Renteria.
Cabrera’s overall offensive numbers are not as good as those of Renteria. However, in his last full season with the Expos in 2003, Cabrera hit .297 with 17 homeruns and 80 RBIs. As for his defense, Cabrera’s career fielding percentage is better than Renteria’s (.977 to .969). Entering 2005, Cabrera committed fewer errors than Renteria (101 to 171). Cabrera also won a Gold Glove for his work at shortstop for the Expos in 2001. Yet the Red Sox made little effort to re-sign Cabrera and aggressively pursued Renteria, who had failed to make way with the Cardinals. Five days after the Red Sox signed Renteria, Cabrera agreed to a four year, $32 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
The second thing one must consider is that not only did the Red Sox pick Renteria over Cabrera, but Renteria was the shortstop for the St. Louis Cardinals — the team the Red Sox swept in the 2004 World Series. In effect, the Red Sox won the Series with one player at shortstop, and then decided they preferred to have the shortstop from the losing team.
To be fair, Renteria was one of the few Cardinals to enjoy a decent Series against the Red Sox last October. Renteria went 5 for 15 with an RBI during the four game sweep. Yet Renteria will be forever remembered as the man who made the final out in Game 4 of the World Series when he tapped the ball back to Keith Foulke, who then tossed the ball to Doug Mientkiewicz to make it official. Renteria was the final thing standing between a championship and a curse. There’s something quite ominous about then turning around and acquiring the final peg in the curse. Will Renteria become the first peg in a second 86-year curse for the Sox? He sports the number 3 on the back of his jersey — the same number worn by one George Herman Ruth. There is an unspoken fear that Renteria may be one miscue away from being the Bill Buckner of the 21st century. Buckner played 22 seasons, collected 2,715 hits and won the National League batting title for the Chicago Cubs in 1980. Yet none of that is remembered. Could the same tragic fate befall Renteria?
Renteria’s offensive numbers for the Sox have been decent. He’s hit .278 with 4 homeruns and 21 RBIs. However, those numbers have improved because of his 16 for 24 performance on the Red Sox’ last road trip (including his 10 for 12 run at Yankee Stadium). It was good enough for him to be named American League Player of the Week. Yet since his return to Fenway, Renteria has gone 3 for 21 at the plate.
His offense would be less of a concern to the Fenway faithful if he played in Gold Glove form at short. But Renteria has already committed 10 errors in 50 games this season. In 2004, Renteria committed 11 errors in 149 games with the National League Champion Cardinals. Although Cabrera’s offensive statistics are modest with the Angels (.239 batting average, 3 HR and 16 RBI) he has committed only 2 errors in 55 games this season. Cabrera’s glove has been a crucial factor in keeping the Angels in first place in the American League West — in what promises to be a tight race to the finish with the Texas Rangers.
The low point for Renteria this season came on May 21st in an interleague game against the Atlanta Braves at Fenway. It was a cold, rainy and windy Saturday night. If the conditions were unbearable for the fans, one could only imagine what it was like for the players — especially Renteria, who is accustomed to playing in the heat of Miami and the humidity of St. Louis. Although Renteria hit a double and scored a run in four at bats, along with a sacrifice fly, he also committed two errors. After striking out in the bottom of the 9th inning, Renteria was ejected by the home plate umpire for arguing balls and strikes. Renteria was so enraged that “Big Papi” David Ortiz had to grab him in a bear hug and physically remove him from the scene. The Red Sox lost 7-5 to the Braves.
The normally stoic shortstop has received a better reception during the team’s current homestand and is slowly becoming more accepted as a part of the team. However, Renteria has yet to receive the kind of warm, heartfelt applause that greeted Orlando Cabrera when he returned to Fenway last Friday as the Angels came to town. Cabrera received a generous standing ovation. Prior to the game, Cabrera told the media how the people of Boston (not always known for their affection) told him how much they “loved him.” Cabrera’s fourth inning double sparked a three run rally to give the Angels a 4-1 lead. The Sox came back to win the game 7-4. However, Renteria was hitless in four at bats, although he did reach base on a walk in the 7th inning. The bases on balls was offset by three strikeouts and an error on an easy pop up by Angels’ catcher Bengie Molina. The fact that Renteria later tagged out Molina when he tried to steal second somehow did not atone for his miscue. Red Sox manager opted to give Renteria the day off on Saturday and played Ramon Vazquez at shortstop in Boston’s 13-6 loss to the Angels.
Renteria has played more effectively when the Red Sox have been on the road this season. Some say his play will improve as the weather warms up in Boston. Others believe that Renteria is uncomfortable with the microscopic scrutiny players are subjected to in the Hub and might never adjust. Renteria may have wished that he signed with the Angels. Los Angeles may be the second largest city in the country and the Angels are competing head to head with the Dodgers for entertainment dollars, but its fans are decidedly laid back and often leave games early to beat traffic on the freeways. Major League Baseball has only been in Miami since 1993. While the St. Louis Cardinals have a storied tradition and a loyal fan base, theirs is a sort of placid Midwestern encouragement to which I can attest. In an interleague game between the Sox and Cardinals in June 2003, I was surrounded by a flock of Cardinals’ fans who were flown in by radio station KMOX 1120, which has broadcast Cardinals games since the 1930s and has carried the voices of Harry Caray, Jack Buck and Mike Shannon. They were polite to a fault. Their idea of rowdy was to chant Albert Pujols’ name in unison. But I’ll take that compared to a fight in the bleachers or a litany of beach balls any day of the week. I’m certain Renteria would too. It’s as if he has the word “jinx” sewn on the back of his uniform.
Next week, the Red Sox travel to St. Louis to play a three game interleague series against the Cardinals and return to the ballpark where they captured their first World Series since 1918. I suspect that Renteria will be ecstatic to return to St. Louis in his quiet way. I suspect also that Renteria will receive an ovation louder and longer in Busch Memorial Stadium than any he has received at Fenway this season.
Of course, there are more than 100 games remaining in the 2005 season. In three months hence, Renteria’s struggles may have become as forgotten as the statues along the Commonwealth Avenue Mall. He may have regained his All-Star form by September. Time is the one thing on Edgar Renteria’s side. Renteria may not possess Cabrera’s engaging and outgoing manner but he is a known and proven commodity. He may not become “loved” as Cabrera has, but there is a good chance that he will earn the respect of Red Sox Nation by the end of the season. Perhaps acceptance. Maybe even the approval of a father near the cradle of the American Revolution on Thoreau Street in Concord.
Aaron Goldstein, a former member of the socialist New Democratic Party, writes poetry and has a chapbook titled Oysters and the Newborn Child: Melancholy and Dead Musicians. His poetry can be viewed on www.poetsforthewar.org.
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