Long-time big league shortstop Edgar Renteria has decided to retire from baseball, he told RCN Television in his native Colombia.
"I'm definitely retired from baseball and it will soon be announced in the majors," said Renteria. "I decided to retire from baseball and try to spend all my time with my family.
"I always wanted Colombia to know before the rest of the world. This is my official retirement," he added. "I feel proud, I feel satisfied with what I did, my heart is telling me that's enough and it's time to retire. You have to know when to retire, and that's why I took a year and a half to rest and think about what I was going to do. This is the right time."
Renteria, 36, did not play in 2012. He last appeared in the big leagues with the Reds in 2011, when he hit .251/.306/.348 in 96 games. Renteria retires as a .286/.343/.398 (94 OPS+) career hitter with 140 homers and 294 stolen bases in part of 16 seasons. His best years came with the Cardinals, with whom he hit .290/.347/.420 (98 OPS+) from 1999-2004. He also suited up with the Marlins, Red Sox, Braves, Tigers, Giants and Reds.
A two-time World Series MVP, Renteria had not one but two World Series winning hits. He hit the walk-off single in the 11th inning of Game 7 of the 1997 Fall Classic while with Florida, and in 2010 he hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the 7th inning of Game 5 of the 2010 World Series for San Francisco. He also played in the 2004 World Series with St. Louis.
By WAR (28.9), Renteria is by far the best Colombian-born player in MLB history. Orlando Cabrera is a distant second at 18.1. Renteria finished second to Todd Hollandsworth in the 1996 NL Rookie of the Year voting and was an All-Star five times. He also received a handful of MVP votes in 2002 and 2003. According to Baseball-Reference.com, Renteria banked just over $85 million in his career.
Batting Stats | ||||||||||||||
Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | CS | OBP | SLG | AVG |
1996 | FLA | 106 | 431 | 68 | 133 | 5 | 31 | 33 | 68 | 16 | 2 | .358 | .399 | .309 |
1997 | FLA | 154 | 617 | 90 | 171 | 4 | 52 | 45 | 108 | 32 | 15 | .327 | .340 | .277 |
1998 | FLA | 133 | 517 | 79 | 146 | 3 | 31 | 48 | 78 | 41 | 22 | .347 | .342 | .282 |
1999 | STL | 154 | 585 | 92 | 161 | 11 | 63 | 53 | 82 | 37 | 8 | .334 | .400 | .275 |
2000 | STL | 150 | 562 | 94 | 156 | 16 | 76 | 63 | 77 | 21 | 13 | .346 | .423 | .278 |
2001 | STL | 141 | 493 | 54 | 128 | 10 | 57 | 39 | 73 | 17 | 4 | .314 | .371 | .260 |
2002 | STL | 152 | 544 | 77 | 166 | 11 | 83 | 49 | 57 | 22 | 7 | .364 | .439 | .305 |
2003 | STL | 157 | 587 | 96 | 194 | 13 | 100 | 65 | 54 | 34 | 7 | .394 | .480 | .330 |
2004 | STL | 149 | 586 | 84 | 168 | 10 | 72 | 39 | 78 | 17 | 11 | .327 | .401 | .287 |
2005 | BOS | 153 | 623 | 100 | 172 | 8 | 70 | 55 | 100 | 9 | 4 | .335 | .385 | .276 |
2006 | ATL | 149 | 598 | 100 | 175 | 14 | 70 | 62 | 89 | 17 | 6 | .361 | .436 | .293 |
2007 | ATL | 124 | 494 | 87 | 164 | 12 | 57 | 46 | 77 | 11 | 2 | .390 | .470 | .332 |
2008 | DET | 138 | 503 | 69 | 136 | 10 | 55 | 37 | 64 | 6 | 3 | .317 | .382 | .270 |
2009 | SF | 124 | 460 | 50 | 115 | 5 | 48 | 39 | 69 | 7 | 2 | .307 | .328 | .250 |
2010 | SF | 72 | 243 | 26 | 67 | 3 | 22 | 21 | 43 | 3 | 0 | .332 | .374 | .276 |
2011 | CIN | 96 | 299 | 34 | 75 | 5 | 36 | 24 | 65 | 4 | 2 | .306 | .348 | .251 |
Total | 2152 | 8142 | 1200 | 2327 | 140 | 923 | 718 | 1182 | 294 | 108 | .343 | .398 | .286 |