Giants’ Renteria Seeking Another Last Swing at Title

ARLINGTON, Texas — The previous two times Edgar Renteria played in the World Series he had the final at bat each time. So when he was asked after Game 4 of this, his third World Series, whether he might have the distinction again with the San Francisco Giants, Renteria smiled briefly, then frowned, then shook his head and said he didn’t know. Perhaps the memories went through his mind in succession, the happy and then the sad. In 1997, Renteria’s second year in the majors, he hit the single up the middle with two outs in the bottom of the 11th inning of Game 7 to score Craig Counsell and give the Florida Marlins their first World Series title in excruciatingly dramatic fashion.

Seven years later Renteria, playing for St. Louis, hit a bouncer back to the mound to end the Boston Red Sox’s four-game sweep of the Cardinals to win their first championship in 86 years.

Whether he was 21 or 28, Renteria placed himself in the middle of the drama during those World Series, and now at 34 he has managed to put himself there again. After a trying regular season marred by injuries, Renteria was expected to play little in the postseason, but has become one the central figures in the Giants’ surge to the brink of winning the title over the Rangers.

“Strange how things turn out sometimes,” said Brian Sabean, the Giants general manager. “It’s the old opportunity knocks saying. His experience, and him being ready has put him in the right place at the right time for us, and vice versa.”

During the regular season, Renteria played in a career-low 72 games with hamstring, groin and arm injuries that landed him on the disabled list three times, and he participated in only 17 of the final 57 games. He didn’t start any games in the first round of the playoffs against the Atlanta Braves, or Game 1 of the National League Championship Series, in part because of a completely torn bicep tendon in his left arm that he injured pinch-hitting in Game 1 of the division series.

“It hurts,” he said at the time, insisting he could manage the pain for a three-hour game. So Giants Manager Bruce Bochy changed everything in Game 2 of the N.L.C.S., moving shortstop Juan Uribe to third base and putting Renteria back in at shortstop. Renteria then started four of the last five N.L.C.S. games and every game of the World Series, where he has batted .429 (6 for 14) with a home run, three runs batted in and five runs scored. He has also been an anchor defensively, especially as a part of two critical double plays in the Giants’ 4-0 victory in Game 4.

After missing so much time and publicly considering retirement, Renteria was asked how it felt to contribute in such a meaningful way to the Giants quest for a championship.

“I got lucky,” he said.

Lucky or not, the Giants were 6-2 in the previous eight postseason games Renteria has started, and the Giants don’t discount his calm leadership or his invaluable postseason experience. Before Monday, Renteria had already played in 65 postseason games with the Marlins, Cardinals and Giants, and had 275 plate appearances, the equivalent of almost a third of a regular season. His batting average in the postseason is only .251, but in 15 World Series games it is .333 (20 for 60) with 10 runs scored.

“Edgar has been through it,” Bochy said. “He’s really been a calming influence on everybody else in the way he plays and how he plays to win. He’s really lifted this club. He’s had a tough year with the injuries, but it’s probably benefited him a little bit because he’s fresh.”

To a man, the Giants seem to have a genuine affection for the venerable Renteria, who is one of only eight Colombians to play in Major League Baseball, and the only one to hit a home run in the Word Series.

“First and foremost, he’s one of my favorite players I’ve been around, on and off the field,” Sabean said. “He’s had a tough couple of years here staying on the field, but he’ probably the most beloved guy in the clubhouse.”

Indeed, the reverence with which the Giants speak of Renteria is striking. Relief pitcher Jeremy Affeldt said all the players, both Spanish and English speakers, look up to Renteria. Affeldt called him an “interesting character in the lineup,” while first baseman Travis Ishikawa said it is a privilege to play alongside him.

“He knows what it takes to win a World Series,” Ishikawa said, “and you almost try to imitate his mental and physical state in these types of games.”

For Renteria to have the final at-bat of the World Series again, the Giants would have to win it all at home, or lose in Game 7. Either way, he’s done it before.