Édinson Rafael Rentería Herazo (born April 7, 1968) is a Colombian

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Moder ...

executive and former player and manager. Originally signed by the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

organization, he played one season with the

Brother Elephants A brother (: brothers or brethren) is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly ...

of the

Chinese Professional Baseball League The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 and played the first season in 1990. CPBL eventually absorbed the competing Taiwan Major League in 20 ...

, and with several teams in the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

. Rentería was previously the president of the

Colombian Professional Baseball League The Colombian Professional Baseball League ( or LPB), is a professional baseball league based in Colombia. It is a five-team winter league that plays during the Major League Baseball offseason. In the past, the league's champion has taken part in ...

. He also owns two teams in the league, the Leones de Barranquilla and the

Tigres de Cartagena The Tigres de Cartagena (''Cartagena Tigers'') are a baseball team in the Colombian Professional Baseball League (LPB), playing in the Caribbean city of Cartagena de Indias. The team was founded in 1996 and plays at the Estadio Once de Noviembre ...

. Since 2025, he has served on the board of the Colombian Baseball Federation.

Playing career

Born in

Barranquilla Barranquilla () is the capital district of the Atlántico department in Colombia. It is located near the Caribbean Sea and is the largest city and third port in the Caribbean region of Colombia, Caribbean coast region; as of 2018, it had a popul ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

, Rentería's two brothers, Evert and

Édgar Rentería Édgar Enrique Rentería Herazo (; born August 7, 1975), nicknamed "the Barranquilla Baby", is a Colombian former professional baseball shortstop. He threw and batted right-handed. He played for the Florida Marlins, St. Louis Cardinals, Boston ...

, also played affiliated baseball, with Édgar eventually debuting with the

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. The team plays its home games at LoanDepot Park. The ...

. As a youth, Édinson Rentería worked as a street vendor to support his family. He signed with the Houston Astros, debuting with the

Gulf Coast Astros The Florida Complex League Astros are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Houston Astros, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to the 2021 season, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Astros. The team plays it ...

in 1985. He made it as high as Triple-A, posting a .291/.339/.336 slash line with the

Tucson Toros The Tucson Toros were a professional baseball team based in Tucson, Arizona, in the United States. The original Toros were a Triple-A minor league baseball team in the Pacific Coast League from 1969 to 1997, where they won the PCL Championship in ...

of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

in 1990. In 1991, his final season with the Astros organization, he split time between Double-A

Jackson Jackson may refer to: Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson oil field in Durham, ...

and High-A

Osceola Osceola (1804 – January 30, 1838, Vsse Yvholv in Muscogee language, Creek, also spelled Asi-yahola), named Billy Powell at birth, was an influential leader of the Seminole people in Florida. His mother was Muscogee, and his great-grandfa ...

, combining for a .283 average. Rentería went to the

in 1992, appearing in 27 games for the Brother Elephants and posting a .239/.316/.284 slash line. The next year, he signed with the expansion

, again reaching the Triple-A level with the

Edmonton Trappers The Edmonton Trappers were a minor league baseball team in Edmonton, Alberta. They were a part of the Triple-A level in the Pacific Coast League, ending with the 2004 season. Their home games were played at Telus Field in downtown Edmonton. The ...

, where he hit .265. After leaving the Marlins organization, he went to the

, where he played with the Tigres Capitalinos, hitting .335 in 1994, and the

Piratas de Campeche The Piratas de Campeche (English: Campeche Pirates) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League (LMB) based in Campeche, Campeche, Mexico. History In 1980, the Alacranes de Durango moved to Campeche, and played their home games at Ven ...

and

El Águila de Veracruz El Águila de Veracruz (English: The Eagle of Veracruz) is a professional baseball team that plays in the Mexican League. Based in Veracruz, Veracruz, Veracruz, Mexico, they play their home games at the Estadio Universitario Beto Ávila. Histor ...

, where hi hit .300 in 1995.

Post-playing career

Rentería managed the Caimanes de Barranquilla of the

(LCBP) to two league championships in 1998 and 1999. He assumed ownership of the league control over day-to-day operations in 1998, with an eye towards attracting foreign import players and combating the country's negative perception due to the Colombian drug wars. As president of the LCBP, Rentería helped organize the inaugural Latin American Series, an alternative club competition to the

Caribbean Series The Caribbean Series ( Spanish: ''Serie del Caribe'') is an annual club tournament contested by professional baseball teams in Latin America. It is organized by the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation. The series is normally played in ...

, in

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

. He also attempted to organize the Intercontinental Series, another alternative to the Caribbean Series to be held in 2024, though that tournament was ultimately cancelled after the Colombian government withdrew its support. In 2012, Rentería was general manager for the

Colombia national baseball team The Colombia national baseball team (Spanish: ''Selección de béisbol de Colombia'') is the national baseball team of Colombia. The team represents Colombia in international competitions. Colombia has won two international baseball championship ...

during the qualifiers for the

2013 World Baseball Classic The 2013 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, held from March 2 to 19, 2013. This was the third iteration of the WBC, following the two previous tournaments, held in 2006 and 2009. Unlike the tw ...

. Rentería's management of the LCBP was controversial, and characterized by conflict with other owners such as

Orlando Cabrera Orlando Luis Cabrera Ramírez (born November 2, 1974), nicknamed "O-Cab" and "the OC", is a Colombian-American former baseball infielder. He won the 2004 World Series championship with the Boston Red Sox. He also played for the Montreal Expos ...

. He was eventually replaced as the league's administrator by Pedro Salcedo Salom in 2022. Even after his tenure, Rentería has been criticized by players such as Jordan Díaz who accused Rentería of "defrauding" the country's baseball program. Rentería responded by saying he would take legal action against Díaz. He was also criticized for failing to make payments to players of the Leones de Barranquilla in 2025; he defended himself by saying that the ownership group of Tigres de Cartagena had failed to make contractually-obligated payments to him. In 2025, Rentería was elected vice president of the Colombian Baseball Federation.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Renteria, Edinson 1968 births Living people Sportspeople from Barranquilla Colombian expatriate baseball players in the United States Colombian expatriate baseball players in Mexico Colombian people of African descent Brother Elephants players Gulf Coast Astros players Auburn Astros players Asheville Tourists players Osceola Astros players Columbus Mudcats players Tucson Toros players Edmonton Trappers players High Desert Mavericks players Tigres del México players Portland Sea Dogs players Rojos del Águila de Veracruz players Piratas de Campeche players Expatriate baseball players in Taiwan Baseball in Colombia Baseball executives