Getting to know Red Sox infielder Tony Renda
The Red Sox called up second baseman Tony Renda two days ago. He made his first appearance in the wee hours of last night’s game against the Yankees. It was a debut he won’t soon forget.
Renda was put in as a pinch runner for Sandy Leon, and became part of the heroics when he scored the winning run in the 10th inning, on a single delivered by Andrew Benintendi.
The 27 year old ended up in the middle of the mob scene celebration at home plate, in one of the most exciting Red Sox finishes of the season.
Here are a few tidbits about the Red Sox new infielder.
Renda went to Junipero Serra High School, in San Mateo, CA, the same high school as Tom Brady. Brady also played baseball in high school, and like Renda became a major league draft pick
Brady chose instead to play football at the University of Michigan, and the rest is history.
As a junior at UC Berkley, Renda was selected in the second round of the 2012 MLB draft. He also did stints in the minor league systems of the Yankees, Reds, and Diamondbacks.
The Red Sox signed Renda last April, and assigned him to the Portland Seadogs, where he hit .371 in 26 games.
Renda’s mother, Laree began her career as a grocery bagger at Safeway Inc. at age 16, where she is now an executive vice president.
His father, Frank Renda was a construction worker, who pushed his son hard on the baseball field. His father died at a age 56 of lung cancer when Renda was 19.
Renda credits his parents work ethic to his success as a baseball player.
“That’s the way I was raised,” Renda said. “You work your tail off. Nothing is earned. You want something, you go out there and get it. There are no handouts.”
Sounds a lot like someone else we know, who practices his craft down in Foxboro. Maybe it’s something in that San Mateo water.
