A Colombian-American Hero

The Barranquilla Kid

As a California native, it's nice to see a Colombian doing good there, as Édgar Rentería has by leading the San Francisco Giants to victory in the 2010 World Series.

The Giants have been a long-suffering, hard-working team, and they deserved to finally be champs. As for Rentería, he stayed in the game and hit the series-winning home run despite a snapped tendon in his left arm.

It's interesting to see a Colombian sports hero who doesn't play futbol , is the national passion. But perhaps not so surprising, considering Colombia's disappointing performance in international soccer. While baseball is big in Venezuela, in Colombia it's a regional sport played on the Caribbean coast - where Baranquilla-native Renteria come from.

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogota Bike Tours