Third Baseman, Atlanta Braves
Age: 31 (July 16)
1st season
with Braves
Bats – Both,
Throws – Right
Height: 5’9” Weight: 178
Prior to 1991:
A native of
California, Pendleton played Little League baseball before performing. at
second base for Channel Islands High School in Oxnard. Moving on to Oxnard
Community College and Fresno State University, he received All-American
recognition in 1982 after setting a school record with 98 hits. Chosen by the
St. Louis Cardinals in the seventh round of the 1982 amateur draft, he signed
and played for two teams at the Rookie and Class A levels in ’82 and batted
.304 with 16 doubles, 5 triples, 5 home runs, and 34 RBIs over the course of 63
games. Moving up to Arkansas of the Class AA Texas League in 1983, he hit .276.
With Louisville of the Class AAA American Association in 1984, Pendleton was
shifted to third base and performed well while batting .297 in 91 games before
being called up to the Cardinals. Taking over at third base, he impressed with
his defensive play and hit .324 as well. in 1985 St. Louis topped the NL East
and won the pennant and while Pendleton’s batting average dropped to .240 he
proved to be a capable clutch hitter and accounted for 69 RBIs. The club was
less impressive in 1986 and Pendleton hit .239 with 59 RBIs. In the field he
led NL third basemen with 133 put outs, 371 assists, and 36 double plays. After
hitting just 7 total home runs in his first three seasons, Pendleton raised his
total to 12 in 1987, none bigger than a game-tying two-run shot against the
Mets at Shea Stadium that set the stage for a successful stretch run that
propelled the Redbirds to the NL East title. Overall, the star third baseman
also batted .286 and compiled 96 RBIs. A rib injury hindered Pendleton during
the World Series against Minnesota, which the Cardinals lost. A hamstring
injury cost him six weeks in 1988 and his production dropped to .253 with 6
home runs and 53 RBIs. He rebounded somewhat in 1989 to win a Gold Glove for
his defensive play, and while inconsistent at bat, he finished strong and batted
.264 with 13 home runs and 74 RBIs. In a down year for the club in 1990,
Pendleton was supplanted at third base in September by converted catcher Todd
Zeile and ended up hitting .230 with 6 home runs and 58 RBIs. In the offseason
he departed the Cardinals as a free agent and signed with the Braves for four
years and $10.2 million.
1991 Season Summary
Appeared in 153
games
3B – 148, PH – 5
[Bracketed
numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 644 [11]
At Bats – 586
[7]
Runs – 94 [9]
Hits – 187 [1]
Doubles – 34 [7,
tied with Howard Johnson]
Triples – 8 [6,
tied with Jay Bell & Spike Owen]
Home Runs – 22 [14]
RBI – 86 [17,
tied with George Bell]
Bases on Balls
– 43
Int. BB – 8 [12,
tied with eight others]
Strikeouts – 70
Stolen Bases – 10
Caught Stealing
– 2
Average - .319
[1]
OBP - .363 [13]
Slugging Pct. -
.517 [3]
Total Bases – 303
[1, tied with Will Clark]
GDP – 16 [6,
tied with Lenny Harris]
Hit by Pitches
– 1
Sac Hits – 7
Sac Flies – 7
[11, tied with nine others]
League-leading
hits were +5 ahead of runner-up Brett Butler
League-leading
batting average was +.001 ahead of runner-up Hal Morris
Midseason
snapshot:3B – 3, HR – 8, RBI – 34, AVG – .324, SLG – .512
Most hits, game
– 4 on five occasions
Longest hitting
streak – 15 games
HR at home – 13
HR on road – 9
Most home runs,
game – 2 (in 4 AB) vs. NY Mets 6/20, (in 4 AB) vs. San Francisco 8/6
Multi-HR games
– 2
Most RBIs, game
– 4 vs. San Francisco 8/6
Pinch-hitting –
1 for 4 (.250) with 1 BB
Fielding
Chances – 481
Put Outs – 108
Assists – 349
Errors – 24
DP – 31
Pct. - .950
Postseason
Batting: 14 G (NLCS vs. Pittsburgh – 7 G; World Series vs. Minnesota – 7 G)
PA – 64, AB – 60,
R – 7, H – 16, 2B – 4,3B – 1, HR – 2, RBI – 4, BB – 4, IBB – 1, SO – 4, SB – 0,
CS – 0, AVG - .267, OBP - .313, SLG - .467, TB – 28, GDP – 3, HBP – 0, SH – 0, SF
– 0
Awards & Honors:
NL MVP: BBWAA
Top 5 in NL MVP
Voting:
Terry Pendleton,
Atl.: 274 pts. - 12 of 24 first place votes, 82% share
Barry Bonds,
Pitt.: 259 pts. – 10 first place votes, 77% share
Bobby Bonilla,
Pitt.: 191 pts. – 1 first place vote, 57% share
Will Clark, SF:
118 pts. – 35% share
Howard Johnson,
NYM: 112 pts. – 33% share
(1 first place
vote for Brett Butler, LAD, who ranked seventh)
---
Braves went 94-68
to finish first in the NL Western Division by 1 game over the Los Angeles
Dodgers, to complete a leap from last place the previous year to the top of the
division. The Braves, with their combination of outstanding starting pitching
and timely hitting (paced by Pendleton), caught the Dodgers in the season’s
final days and secured the crown in the finale. Won NLCS over the Pittsburgh
Pirates, 4 games to 3. Lost World Series to the Minnesota Twins, 4 games to 3.
The Series came down to a dramatic seventh game pitching performance by
Minnesota RHP Jack Morris, who outlasted RHP John Smoltz and two relievers to
win in 10 innings.
Aftermath of ‘91:
Pendleton
followed up in 1992 by again leading the NL in hits (199) while batting .311
with 21 home runs and 105 RBIs. He was awarded a Gold Glove and finished second
in league MVP voting. The Braves again won the pennant and lost the World
Series and Pendleton added another five RBIs in the postseason. His performance
slipped a bit in 1993 as his average dropped to .272 but he still hit a solid
17 home runs with 84 RBIs. In the strike-shortened 1994 season he hit .252 with
7 home runs and 30 RBIs. Once more a free agent in the offseason, Pendleton
moved on to the Florida Marlins in 1995. He proved to be a steadying force in a
youthful infield and batted .290 with 14 home runs and 78 RBIs. In 1996,
Pendleton was dealt back to the Braves to provide depth for their run to the
postseason. For the year he hit a combined .238 with 11 home runs and 75 RBIs.
Released after the season, he next signed on with the Cincinnati Reds for 1997.
Following three stints on the disabled list and batting .248, he was released
in July. The Kansas City Royals signed him in 1998 to provide veteran
leadership but he lasted only until June as a DH and backup third baseman.
Sidelined by a rib injury, he was hitting .257 and retired after the season. Overall,
for his major league career Pendleton batted .270 with 1897 hits that included
356 doubles, 39 triples, and 140 home runs. He scored 851 runs and compiled 946
RBIs and 127 stolen bases. With the Braves he batted .287 with 669 hits, 319
runs scored, 130 doubles, 13 triples, 71 home runs, 322 RBIs, and 24 stolen
bases. Appearing in 66 postseason games, he hit .252 with three home runs and
23 RBIs. A three-time Gold Glove winner, Pendleton was chosen to one All-Star
Game. Following his playing career he became a coach with the Braves. He has
been named to the Ventura County Sports Hall of Fame in California and the Missouri
Sports Hall of Fame.
--
MVP Profiles feature players in the National or
American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award
(1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present)
as Most Valuable Player.
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