The year is 1997 and I am seven years old, and its late in October, game seven of the 1997 World Series between the Florida Marlins and the Cleveland Indians. Being an innocent kid, I was rooting for the Marlins because that was my Little League team. I had begged my dad to let me stay up late to watch game seven go into extra innings, and Renteria steps to the plate.
What may go down as the greatest clutch hit in Marlins as well as World Series history, Renteria slapped a screamer up the middle out of the outstretched arm of the Indians’ second baseman, Craig Counsell came around to score and the rest is history.
Fast forward to the year 2010, and Renteria is now wearing a Giants uniform and the Giants are looking for a Giant play. It’s game five and Rangers ace Cliff Lee is pitching a gem with a 1-0 cushion. To make a long story short, Renteria hit a three-run blast off Lee and the Giants ended up winning the game and the series in part to his late-inning home run.
The Giants came off as no surprise when the declined Renteria’s $9.5 million-dollar option, as Renteria was nagged with injuries and only played in 74 games during the regular season, which included three stints on the disabled list.
The Giants offered the 2010 World Series MVP a measly one-year, $1 million dollar offer to return as a Giant and Renteria was offended and heated over the offer.
“That offer from the Giants was a lack of respect,” Renteria told ESPNDeportes.com Thursday from Colombia. “A total disrespect.”
But what may come off as more disrespectful is Renteria’s pride and arrogance. Sure he was the unsung hero in game five and batted over .400 en route to the Giants first world series since 1958, but Renteria and the rest of these athletes in the twilight of their careers need to realize that baseball is a business.
Baseball is a performance-based business, and your paycheck is correlated with your contributions to the team and your ability to perform. Renteria had made close to $20 million the previous two seasons, and played in less than half of the 2010 regular season, and his performance during the regular season the past few years has been anything but respectable.
Not to mention the $500,000 buyout he received when the Giants declined his contract, but Renteria has been living the high life for the majority of his career.
The unemployment rate is close to 10 percent in America and he is insulted by a one-million dollar offer. I idolized Renteria growing up, and he should be grateful he was even welcomed back.
If he feels more inclined to hang up his cleats, then the San Francisco Giants are better without him. He wasn’t the only player that helped the Giants win their first World Series since moving to San Francisco.
Ace Tin Lincecum, closer Brian Wilson, sluggers Pat Burrell and Cody Ross ring any bells?
The problem with athletes today is that they have an incredible sense of entitlement and whenever they achieve something great, they act upon that to increase their worth.
Renteria is 34 and on the decline. He showcased a memorable performance during the 2010 World Series.
But baseball is a business. But to Renteria, baseball means playing for money.
“To play for a million dollars, I’d rather stay with my private business and share more time with my family,” he later said.
Would you have that private business without baseball? Not likely.
Mr. Renteria, the door is right there. You had an incredible career and were one of the game’s best shortstops of my generation.
To play for a million dollars? I would do anything to play for a million dollars.
I would even do anything for a Klondike Bar.