Davidoff: Renteria's big swing ends 56-year drought

The game and the championship stood in the balance, Giants on second and third and two outs in a scoreless game in the seventh inning. Edgar Renteria at the plate against Cliff Lee.

Brian "The Beard" Wilson, the Giants' closer, turned to his fellow relievers in the visitors' bullpen here at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. "I'm like, 'You know what? Edgar's not getting a base hit,'" Wilson said, after the fact. "Edgar's going deep."

Edgar went deep - he called it, too - and one of baseball's most storied droughts is now no longer.

The San Francisco Giants are your World Series champions, and this most unlikely trudge through the baseball desert concluded in a manner that defied belief. Renteria's seventh-inning three-run homer off Texas ace and future bajillionaire Lee gave the visitors a 3-1 victory in World Series Game 5 at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, wrapping up this Fall Classic with a 4-1 San Francisco triumph.

Giants ace Tim Lincecum pitched beautifully to pick up his second win in two tries against Lee, yet the Series Most Valuable Player Renteria will best symbolize this Giants club that overcame probabilities and common sense to give San Francisco its first parade since they welcomed the Giants for the 1958 season. The 1954 New York Giants last won it all for this franchise.

"It's unbelievable. It's unbelievable," said Renteria, who told teammate Andres Torres before the at-bat that he would hit it out. "That's life. I've been hurt all year, but I've kept myself in shape, kept myself working hard, and I keep telling myself, 'Let's be patient, let it come over,' and thank God everything worked out."

Renteria signed with the Giants during the 2008-09 offseason for two years and $18.5 million, and at the time, you heard the terms and thought, "That can't possibly be right. That's a huge overpay." Renteria proceeded to record a dreadful 2009, and he played in only 72 games this season due to three trips on the disabled list.

Now? Renteria will never again have to pay for a meal in San Francisco. It has been quite a career for the 34-year-old, who also delivered the Series-winning, walkoff single for the 1997 Marlins against the Indians.

Back in '97, Renteria helped a nascent team attain euphoria in record time, its fifth year of existence. Seven years later, his comebacker to Keith Foulke finished Boston's four-game sweep of St. Louis and gave the Red Sox their first title since 1918. This time, he brought joy to generations of fans who suffered through season after season of close calls.

"For us to win for our fans, it's never been done there, and with all those great teams," San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy said.

This looked to be an all-timer, up there with Jack Morris vs. John Smoltz in 1991 World Series Game 7 and Smoltz vs. Andy Pettitte in 1996 World Series Game 5. The young "Freak," Lincecum, trying to overpower the Rangers' lineup and the veteran Lee trying to dismantle the Giants' players with precision.

In the 55 seasons from 1955 through 2009, the Giants put up 35 winning records and qualified for the postseason eight times, including World Series losses in 1962, 1989 and 2002.

They seemed to be entering 2010 with a strong pitching staff and weak lineup. Yet that lineup somehow produced sufficiently in the regular season and brilliantly in the postseason.

Giants fans no longer must remember the Polo Grounds to appreciate the sheer joy of a championship. They earned this magical night, and this shocking team for the ages. You can even believe that their players saw this coming.