"When they want you and they try everything to get you -- it could be economic, it could be calling and showing a real interest in you -- that's what makes the difference," Renteria said, relaxing by his kidney-shaped pool fed by a mini-waterfall.
Still, the two-time Gold Glove winner acknowledged it was a difficult decision to make, above all for the emotional bond he feels with the Cardinals and St. Louis fans.
"I know the St. Louis team and fans wanted me to stay, but [management] didn't try hard to keep me -- that's what I felt in the negotiations," he said. Even with his mind made up before he went to bed Tuesday night, "I could hardly sleep. I played six years with St. Louis and I considered it my home. This is the first day I wake up and I'm not with St. Louis."
He expects to fly to Boston today to meet Red Sox management and formally sign his contract over the weekend, before returning to Colombia.
Having played hard against the Sox during the World Series -- "I wanted to beat them, but I couldn't," he said -- he is looking forward to joining the new champions. "I always like to play on a winning team," he said.
Renteria is well known in this Atlantic port town for his daily three-hour workouts at a popular gym, his dedication to intense dominoes games that last late into the evening on balmy weekend nights, and a New Year's Eve softball and egg-toss tournament with old friends, where the losing team pays for everyone's beer.
"What I've seen of the [Sox] team during the World Series is that they all get along well," said Renteria. "They may look crazy with their long hair, [but] they play hard and on the field they're professional, while off the field they're open and warm. That's the way I like to both play and relax. I like to enjoy myself, tell stories, hang out with friends in the clubhouse before playing. And then on the field, I concentrate 100 percent."
