World Series hero Edgar Renteria admirably kept his ego in check last month when he turned down a hometown party in Colombia and asked that all the money be sent to flood victims instead.
But all that MVP award and congratulatory chats with Hugo Chavez had to go to his head some time.
And that time would appear to be now, with the 34-year-old acting all insulted over the San Francisco Giants' offer of $1 million to keep an eye on Miguel Tejada's walker and maybe play a game or two a week next season.
"That offer from the Giants was a lack of respect. A total disrespect," Renteria told ESPNdeportes.com Thursday from Colombia.
"To play for a million dollars, I'd rather stay with my private business and share more time with my family," he said. "Thank God I'm well off financially and my money is well invested."
Aaaand .... cue the warranted cries of "if only my boss disrespected me that much" last employed when fellow codger Jermaine Dye used a similar line last spring.
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And thank God that Brian Sabean disrespected Renteria two seasons ago by handing him an $18 million contract that he didn't deserve then and only decided to start earning when he put that Cliff Lee pitch over the wall in Game 5 of the World Series against the Texas Rangers.
If Renteria really wants to spend more time with his family, then no one's going to begrudge him calling it a career. He certainly put together a good run and even he admits to ESPN's Enrique Rojas that he isn't the player he used to be. His combined OPS+ over his two years in San Francisco was an extremely underwhelming 75. (League average is 100.)
But if Renteria still wants to live the baseball life and be a part-time player, the Giants' offer is in the ballpark for an infielder they're not even sure can play a full season for them.
It's possible that Renteria is just angling for an extra few hundred thousand, but this is far from the way to do it. "Lack of respect" and "one million dollars" should never be placed in the same public sentence.
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