A Letter to Edgar Renteria

Dear Edgar Renteria,

As a Cardinals fan and admirer of most of your work in St. Louis, I want to take the time to congratulate you on winning the World Series and MVP honors.  You’ve had a tough career recently, what with your struggles in the American League and the recent trips to the DL.  But you came through for your team when it mattered most, and I respect that.  However, something has been bothering me the last few days, and I hope you don’t mind if I give you a short history lesson which isn’t in chronological order (otherwise it ruins the punchline, so just go with it), followed by a very simple question.

1997: You have 5 extra-inning, walk-off hits during the regular season with the Marlins.  Clutch, to say the least.  Fast forward to Game 7 of the World Series.  It’s the bottom of the 11th, and you hit a walk-off single up the middle.  Craig Counsell scores, Marlins win the game and the World Series.  Well done, old boy.

2010 World Series: In Game 2, you hit a go-ahead solo shot off CJ Wilson in the 5th inning of a 9-0 route of the Rangers.  You also hit a two-run single later in the game to break it open.  Clutch.  In Game 5 you do the almost unimaginable: another go-ahead three-run homer, this time in the 7th inning off Cliff “Remember When I Was Undefeated in the Postseason?” Lee.  You and the Giants win the World Series.  Again, clutch.  And now we backtrack to this…

2004 World Series: You ground out to the pitcher, Keith Foulke, for the last out of a Red Sox sweep of the Cardinals.  Not so clutch.

Which brings me to a very simple question:  What the fuck, bro?

I just don’t get it.  You’ve played in three World Series for three different teams, but you decide to choose your Cardinals World Series to not get a clutch hit and help us win it?  And your Cardinals years (1999-2004) were the prime of your career!  You won 2 Gold Gloves (2002-03) and 3 Silver Sluggers (2000, 2002-03) with us.  You won zero with any other team.  What gives?  Why don’t you like me?

Granted, the Cardinals wound up winning it all in 2006, so victory wasn’t far off.  But I’ve heard so many sports writers and bloggers and baseball fanatics say that we didn’t deserve that title, that our team was the worst to ever win the championship.  We ended that season with 83 wins (the lowest ever for a team that won the World Series) and three separate seven game losing streaks (also a first for a World Series champion).  Countless people have claimed that St. Louis didn’t win that World Series, Detroit lost it.  I’m sick and tired of hearing that St. Louis owns a tainted title.  We should have won in 2004, and you could have helped like you did in ’97 and this year.  We desperately needed one of those clutch hits that you had for the Marlins and Giants.  Where were they in 2004, butthead?  I’ll await a response, as well as an apology.

Best wishes,

Ryan

PS – Please don’t mind the smudges and tear stains…I had something in my eye.