Edgar Renteria’s case for the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame

Edgar Renteria #3 of the St. Louis Cardinals runs between bases during the game against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on June 9, 2004 in Chicago, Illinois. The Cardinals defeated the Cubs 12-4. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
Edgar Renteria #3 of the St. Louis Cardinals runs between bases during the game against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on June 9, 2004 in Chicago, Illinois. The Cardinals defeated the Cubs 12-4. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 3
Next
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – CIRCA 1996: Edgar Renteria #16 of the Florida Marlins in action against the San Francisco Giants during an Major League Baseball game circa 1996 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California. Renteria played for the Marlins in 1996-98. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – CIRCA 1996: Edgar Renteria #16 of the Florida Marlins in action against the San Francisco Giants during an Major League Baseball game circa 1996 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California. Renteria played for the Marlins in 1996-98. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /

The Case for Edgar Renteria

In my opinion Edgar Renteria is one of the best shortstops in the history of the St. Louis Cardinals. Certainly, the best since Ozzie Smith.

Renteria’s three Silver Slugger Awards (2000, 2002, 2003) are the most in franchise history by a shortstop. His two Gold Gloves (2002,2003) are second in franchise history and the last won by a Cardinals shortstop. He is the only shortstop in team history to win Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Awards in back to back years. Additionally, he was named to three All Star teams (2000, 2003, 2004) during his six years in St. Louis.

Renteria’s batting average of .330 in 2003 is a franchise single season record for shortstops, as is his 47 doubles he hit in that season. His 100 RBIs in 2003 ranks second among all shortstops in franchise history for a single season. The Columbian native also ranks first all time for Cardinals shortstops in OPS, second in steals, and the top three in hits, extra base hits, home runs, RBI, and average.

There is not another shortstop in Cardinals history who had such productive back to back seasons(both offensively and defensively) as Renteria did in 2002 and 2003. If fact, Mark Tomasik of the RetroSimba site called Renteria’s 2003 season “perhaps the best overall season produced by a Cardinal shortstop.