November 13, 2004
EDGAR RENTERIA AND THE BUSINESS OF BASEBALL
It is amazing how swiftly our attention turns to the 2005 baseball season once the World Series ends.
A couple of days of puzzlement over just what the heck happened, then sit back and watch the parade of profiteering agents, lawyers, negotiators, and free agents peddle their services to the highest bidder. I hope Curt Flood will excuse me, but I like knowing who will take the field during the coming year by the end of the current season. Free agency is certainly a cash cow for those blessed with the talent to play at this level, but it can be dramatically disruptive to a team’s chemistry. The availability of Edgar Renteria on the free agency market is a perfect example.
Renteria just completed his sixth productive year with the Cardinals. He has been a rock-solid performer in every aspect of the game. He is tough. Over these six years, he has averaged 150.5 games per year. He has averaged 560 at-bats per season, hitting .290 as a Cardinal. He is also one of the game’s premier shortstops, capable of slick plays, strong throws, and an uncanny ability to turn double plays. He is fearless in the face of baserunners threatening to break up double plays and his physical well-being.
The equally important quality possessed by Renteria is that of quiet leadership. Edgar Renteria exudes a stoic confidence in his play and in his interactions with his teammates. He clearly has the respect of the Cardinal players, coaches, and management. Shy before a microphone in part due to his limited English skills, Renteria is said to be much more vocal in the clubhouse, encouraging, motivating, leading, and when appropriate admonishing and challenging. Edgar Renteria is the kind of person any baseball fan would want on the field and in the locker room.
Unfortunately, this is the time of year that our attention is forced in the direction of tough business decisions. His contract with the Cardinals having expired, Edgar Renteria is now an unrestricted free agent. He can sign with any team he so desires. Cardinal General Manager Extraordinaire Walt Jocketty has publicly said that signing Renteria is the greatest challenge facing the Cards in the off-season. The question is, and always will be, the extent to which the team as a business entity can go in meeting his salary demands and keeping that commitment in balance with the other needs of the team as it is cobbled back together for the 2005 campaign.
I like Edgar Renteria. I like him at shortstop. I like him at bat with runners in scoring position (exclude 2004 and I’ll explain). I like him in the locker room. It is hard to imagine Edgar Renteria wearing any other uni except the one with the birds-on-bat. I want him to stay in St. Louis. I also firmly believe that Edgar likes St. Louis, the Cardinals, and Tony LaRussa.
If Edgar Renteria has one seeming flaw, it is a tacit moodiness that seems to pervade his persona when the element of business rears its ugly head in his life. Harken back a year or two ago. Renteria was on an early offensive tear until trade rumors began swirling about a possible mid-season trade. While those rumors were being batted about by the media, the worry on Edgar’s face was clear. He played with a dampened enthusiasm that began the day the trade rumors hit and left once the trade deadline passed. He came back to have two strong months up to the end of the season.
Edgar entered the 2004 season, his walk year, facing another major business issue. Complementary to his demeanor during the trade rumors, Edgar seemed a little distracted this year. His overall performances offensively and defensively were reduced. His average with runners in scoring position with two outs was .284 in 2002. It dropped to .203 in 2004. His statistical performance rather compounds Jocketty’s decision in terms of a long-term contract if 2004 is indicative of Edgar’s long-term potential. It certainly didn’t help Edgar’s case for a high-pay, long-term contract.
I hope the two parties are able to get a new contract worked out so that Renteria is a Cardinal for several more years. My prediction is that once the business decisions are made and the uncertainties pass him by, we will see the same old Edgar Renteria. He remains a young man brimming with talent. His professionalism is no longer cloaked in the mysteries of youth. He is going to sign somewhere and become a wealthy man. Once he puts the ugly business of baseball behind him, Edgar Renteria will be free to resume his on-field passion in life and will do so with a vengeance. I hope that new, same old Edgar will show his immense skills for many years to come at Broadway and Market Streets in downtown St. Louis.
Rex Duncan
rdunc221@yahoo.com
