Faster than you can say "Edgar Renteria wasn't already retired?"…the 2010 World Series MVP officially called it quits Thursday.
Unable to find a time to play for for the second straight year, Renteria told a television station in his native Colombia that he wants to spend more time with his family. Yup…that old ruse.
"I always wanted Colombia to know before the rest of the world. This is my official retirement," the 37-year-old told RCN Television, in comments translated by CBSSports.com. "I feel proud, I feel satisfied with what I did, my heart is telling me that's enough and it's time to retire. You have to know when to retire and that's why I took a year and a half to rest and think about what I was going to do. This is the right time."
The five-time All-Star last played in the Majors in 2011, when he hit .251 in 96 games for the Cincinnati Reds.
All jokes aside, Renteria was actually an incredibly efficient shortstop during his 16 years in the bigs. For his career, he brought home two Gold Glove, hit .286 with 2327 base knocks and 1200 runs scored.
Oh, and let's not forget those game-winning World Series hits. In 1997, he hit a walk-off single to give the then-Florida Marlins their first world championship over the Cleveland Indians. And in 2010, he belted a home run off Cliff Lee to give the San Francisco Giants the World Series victory over the Texas Rangers.
Coincidentally, Renteria made the final out of the 2004 World Series while with the St. Louis Cardinals…but we won't talk about that.
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