Renteria Stays Hot At The Plate
By Matthew Leach / MLB.com
August 18, 2002
PHILADELPHIA -- Since the beginning of July, the Cardinals have picked up a dependable veteran starting pitcher (Chuck Finley), an All-Star third baseman (Scott Rolen) ... and a slugging shortstop.
It's not as though anyone was complaining about Edgar Renteria the first three months of the season. He was playing solid defense at short and contributing nicely with the bat. The 1997 World Series hero made a fine complementary player on a playoff-caliber team.
Then the second half rolled around, and Renteria started playing like an MVP candidate. He has hit .358 since the All-Star break with five homers, seven doubles and 25 RBIs. He's slugging .518 in that time. And his timing has been nothing short of exceptional.
Renteria launched another big homer in the sixth inning at Philadelphia on Sunday afternoon, turning a 1-0 squeaker into a 5-0 cushion with his first career grand slam. That lead was plenty for Cardinals ace Matt Morris, who picked up his 15th win as the Cardinals defeated the Phillies 5-1.
"We've got a lot of guys contributing, but Edgar's really stepped it up," Morris said. "He's been the guy putting us over the edge there. To have him hitting seventh in the order and hit .350 after the break is only a plus for us. He's locked in and hopefully we'll keep him that way."
Renteria's slam was only the latest in a string of key hits. Three weeks ago, he blasted a three-run walkoff job against the Cubs to complete a six-run, ninth-inning comeback. But that shot went to left field. The righty-hitting shortstop cranked his homer on Sunday the opposite way.
"It's tough to pull the ball on (Vicente) Padilla," Renteria said. "He throws hard, sinker and slider. So you have to take it the other way. It's my natural thing, to hit the ball to right field. But now. I think I have a little more pop."
It seems that way. Renteria has more homers in 36 games since the break than he had in 80 contests in the first half. He had a bit of a lull when everyone else on the team did, about a week ago when St. Louis lost seven consecutive games. But for the most part, Renteria is on a hot streak the likes of which he has never experienced before.
"I think, yes," Renteria said when asked if this is the best stretch of his career. "The last month and July. I had a great July and that helped me to recognize the way I want to hit. My strong side is right field."
Renteria's homer was about the only hard hit ball of the entire five-run St. Louis sixth. J.D. Drew led off with a soft single up the middle. Jim Edmonds hit a possible double play ball to first baseman Travis Lee, but Lee muffed it, putting runners on the corners. A single to the right side by Albert Pujols made it 1-0.
Tino Martinez singled softly to the right side to load the bases for Renteria. And the way the St. Louis offense has been going lately, you just had a hunch as to what was coming.
"We're scratching and clawing for any run we can get," Morris said. "To get a break like (Lee's error), with our team we're gonna capitalize. To go up 1-0, and then an outstanding job of hitting from a lot of our guys, hitting the ball the other way."
Still, as good as Renteria has been, his manager remains loath to pick out individuals for public praise.
"I don't like to single guys out," said Tony La Russa. "I like to give Edgar a lot of credit. But there are other guys that are playing with him. Edgar, he's been great. But the guy that pitched today (Morris) has been great too. And the catcher (Mike Matheny) did a great job with him. I think you give (Renteria) credit, say he's one of the guys that's playing really well."
If anyone on this Cardinals team receives MVP consideration, it will be Pujols -- and rightly so, considering what he's done with the bat all year long. Meanwhile, Morris remains probably the biggest name on the squad. But for the last six weeks, no one on the St. Louis roster has been better than Renteria.
Back to 2002 Articles Page