Marlins birthday: World Series hero Édgar Rentería turns 50

Édgar Rentería’s time with the Florida Marlins was short, but it was undeniably impactful. Just 19 years old when he made his Major League Baseball debut, Renteria celebrates his 50th birthday today. 

Born Aug. 7, 1976 in Colombia, Renteria spent the first three seasons of his 16-year career with the Marlins. Nearly the National League Rookie of the Year in 1996, Renteria was a World Series hero in 1997 and an All-Star in 1998. 

Renteria’s impact was immediate. As a rookie in 1996, Renteria hit .309 in 106 games with five home runs, 31 RBIs and 16 stolen bases. He finished behind Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder and future Marlins World Series champion and broadcaster Todd Hollandsworth. 

In 1997, Renteria occupied the No. 2 hole in the Florida order. A table setter for the big bats like Gary Sheffield, Bobby Bonilla and Moises Alou, Renteria turned in another solid year, hitting .277 with four home runs, 52 RBIs and 32 stolen bases. He led the National League with 19 sacrifice hits. 

The fondest memories of Renteria from the 1997 campaign, however, came in the postseason. In the club’s first-ever postseason game, Renteria played the role of hero with a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth against Roberto Hernández, giving Florida a 2-1 win over the San Francisco Giants in Game 1 of the National League Division Series – a series the Marlins would ultimately sweep. 

In the National League Championship-clinching Game 6 win over the Atlanta Braves, Renteria went 2-for-3 with two doubles and a run scored as the Marlins celebrated a 7-4 victory at Turner Field. Relatively quiet through the first six games of the 1997 World Series, it was Renteria who would ultimately deliver the franchise its first championship. 

Against the Cleveland Indians in Game 7, Renteria singled off reliever Charles Nagy to score Craig Counsell and give Florida its first of two World Series titles. Renteria finished with three of the eight Florida hits in the thrilling 3-2 come-from-behind win. 

In his final season with the Marlins, Renteria made his first of five All-Star Game appearances. He finished the year by hitting .282 with three home runs, 31 RBIs and 41 stolen bases. In his first All-Star Game, Renteria scored a run and made a nifty play to rob Omar Vizquel, his American League counterpart, of a hit.  

After an All-Star season for Renteria and a dismal 54-108 finish for Florida, Renteria was dealt to the St. Louis Cardinals for Armando Almanza, Braden Looper and Pablo Ozuna. Looper would be a major contributor out of the bullpen for the Marlins’ 2003 title team. 

Regarded as a contact hitter with good speed for the Marlins, Renteria would hit double-digit home runs in each of his six seasons in St. Louis, making All-Star Games in 2000 when he hit a career-best 16 home runs; in 2003 when he drove in a career-high 100 runs; and in 2004.  

After a season with the Boston Red Sox, Renteria spent two years with the Atlanta Braves, making his final All-Star appearance in 2006. Renteria was reunited with his former Marlins manager Jim Leyland during the 2008 season with the Detroit Tigers before two seasons with the San Francisco Giants. 

In 2010, Renteria helped San Francisco win its first World Series since relocating from New York and in the process, was named the series’ MVP. He concluded his career in 2011 with the Cincinnati Reds.  

A two-time world champion who played on many great teams over the years, Renteria’s most iconic postseason moment is arguably still the walk-off hit in Game 7 of the 1997 World Series. The club’s October hero turns 50 today.