Renteria Greeted Warmly In St. Louis
Cardinals fans give former shortstop standing ovation
By Matthew Leach / MLB.com
June 06, 2005
ST. LOUIS -- For accuracy's sake, it should be noted that the boos came first. Then they were quickly, and overwhelmingly, replaced by cheers. More specifically, by a 38-second standing ovation from the huge crowd at Busch Stadium.
For every Cardinals fan with hurt feelings over Edgar Renteria's departure, there were several others at Busch on Monday night to drown him or her out with memories of six terrific years. Renteria made his first appearance in St. Louis since leaving for the Red Sox as a free agent, and his reception from the fans was exactly what he predicted before the game.
"Love," he said, when asked what he expected from the crowd. "They're going to show some love because I always played to win. I always played, I always left my heart on the field."
His former teammates definitely showed him love. Renteria was warmly greeted by plenty of current Cardinals, and shared a hug with his old manager, Tony La Russa. He's still baffled by the controversy over recent remarks by La Russa, in which the manager said that Renteria is not the kind of player who will respond well to boos.
It was somewhat appropriate that the man Renteria faced in his first at-bat was the guy he played with for the longest time, Matt Morris. The right-hander was the only Cardinal with a longer tenure than Renteria when the shortstop left for a four-year deal with the Red Sox.
"It's exciting," Renteria said. "I'm going to be excited my first at-bat. When you're on the team, you're always talking to the pitchers, you're always saying, 'If I face you, I'll hit a home run off you.' They say, 'I'll strike you out.' I'm excited to play against these guys."
Once again for accuracy's sake, Renteria neither struck out nor went deep -- though Morris clearly got the better of him, as Renteria grounded into a 4-6-3 double play. The man who replaced him, David Eckstein -- once the property of the Red Sox himself -- made the turn on the DP.
Unfortunately for Renteria and the Red Sox, that outcome has been a bit too common this year. The adjustment to the American League has been difficult, even in an era of Interleague Play and free agency.
"To me, it's like my first year in the big leagues," Renteria said. "I feel like a rookie. I've never faced the pitchers before. But I've been working a lot with my teammates, and they've helped me a lot, supported me. I play the best I can."
However, he emphasized that it's the on-the-field transition that's been the hard part, not so much the off-field stuff -- whether it be fans or media.
When asked the biggest difference between Boston and St. Louis, Renteria refused to bite. He said to his eyes and ears, Red Sox fans are more like Cardinals fans than they are different.
"Different league," he said with a smile. "The fans [in Boston] are good. They know about the game. They know if you play hard. They try to help the team, and they support you."
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