Renteria Regains All-Star Form
By David O'Brien
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
May 26, 2006
Chicago - Now that he's back home in the National League, Edgar Renteria is playing like a man who doesn't want to pull up stakes again anytime soon.
In his first season with Atlanta, the shortstop has regained the form that made him a four-time NL All-Star, and done everything Braves officials hoped he'd do when they traded for him in December.
"He's been terrific," manager Bobby Cox said of Renteria, who ranks among the NL's top 10 in batting average (.322) and on-base percentage (.408).
"I'm glad he had a bit of a down year in Boston, or else he wouldn't have been available to us."
The Red Sox signed Renteria to a four-year, $40 million contract before the 2005 season, then traded him a year later after he hit .276 with 70 RBIs and had his fewest homers (eight) since 1999 and the most errors (30) of his career.
With the Braves, he has silenced the talk out of Boston that his best years were behind him and that he'd lost a step or three in the field.
"He's been everything I expected, and more," Braves second baseman Marcus Giles said. "Obviously on the field, but even more importantly, as a leader in the clubhouse.
"All of us respect his opinion. When Edgar talks, we listen. His knowledge of the game is more than I expected. He knows everything about the game, from baserunning to hitting to fielding and throwing ... every fundamental thing."
On the field, the amiable 30-year-old looks like he's got plenty left in the tank.
"I feel good right now," said Renteria, who has hit safely in 34 of 37 games as a Brave, including his first 23 games, the longest batting streak in the majors this season and longest season-opening streak in three decades.
"Every time I go to home plate, I feel comfortable, even if the pitcher is nasty," he said. "I'm making adjustments every pitch. Even if they throw a great pitch, I feel like I can make an adjustment and if he throws that pitch again, I can hit it. That never happened to me before. I don't know why it's happened."
Renteria gives a lot of credit to Cox - "the perfect manager" - and hitting coach Terry Pendleton for not being overbearing. Renteria and Pendleton were teammates on the 1996 Florida Marlins, when Renteria was just getting started.
"I played with T.P. and we had a good relationship," Renteria said. "He makes it comfortable. If he sees you doing good, he doesn't say anything. If he sees you doing something bad, he says something about it."
Renteria hit his third home run Wednesday at San Diego, but his specialty is opposite-field singles and doubles and clutch hits.
He's hit .316 with runners in scoring position, including .438 with two outs.
"Think how many games we would have won without him," Braves pitcher John Smoltz said. "I can say that about a lot of guys in our lineup, but him in particular. He's been our most consistent table-setter. He doesn't give in an inch to anything the pitcher does."
Those who have played with and against him in the NL through the years aren't surprised to see his resurgence with the Braves.
"I don't know what happened last year," said Arizona shortstop Craig Counsell, "but I don't think anybody who's ever been in the National League with him would have anything bad to say about Edgar Renteria and how he plays baseball."
Counsell scored the winning run for Florida on Renteria's 11th-inning single in Game 7 of the 1997 World Series against Cleveland. It made Renteria a star in Miami and his native Colombia, the places he still lives during the offseason.
He was a fan favorite during six seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, where manager Tony La Russa called him one of best players he ever managed.
"He's been a lot better than I thought he was going to be," said Braves first baseman Adam LaRoche. "I knew he was pretty good, but I hadn't seen him play a lot, and didn't know he was going to have such a polished approach at the plate.
"I don't know how many times with guys at first, he'll shoot a ball through that hole between first and second, just because he knows it's there. That's not as easy as it looks. He makes things look a lot easier than they are."
Renteria has also brought an old-school approach to the clubhouse, something he picked up through the years from veterans including Willie McGee in St. Louis.
"I'd sit with Willie after every game and talk," Renteria said. "He taught me that I didn't have to leave [right away] after the game. A lot of guys shower and go home as soon as the game's over. I like to stick around and talk about why we won or lost the game. We've got some guys doing that now."
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