Terry Pendleton

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American baseball player and coach (born 1960)

title: "Terry Pendleton" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1960-births", "living-people", "major-league-baseball-third-basemen", "atlanta-braves-coaches", "atlanta-braves-players", "cincinnati-reds-players", "florida-marlins-players", "kansas-city-royals-players", "st.-louis-cardinals-players", "national-league-all-stars", "baseball-players-from-los-angeles", "african-american-baseball-players", "major-league-baseball-hitting-coaches", "major-league-baseball-first-base-coaches", "african-american-baseball-coaches", "gold-glove-award-winners", "national-league-batting-champions", "fresno-state-bulldogs-baseball-players", "baseball-players-from-oxnard,-california", "baseball-players-from-st.-louis", "johnson-city-cardinals-players", "st.-petersburg-cardinals-players", "arkansas-travelers-players", "louisville-redbirds-players", "greenville-braves-players", "indianapolis-indians-players", "omaha-royals-players", "national-league-most-valuable-player-award-winners", "21st-century-african-american-sportsmen", "20th-century-african-american-sportsmen", "oxnard-condors-baseball-players", "21st-century-american-sportsmen", "20th-century-american-sportsmen"] description: "American baseball player and coach (born 1960)" topic_path: "science/astronomy" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Pendleton" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American baseball player and coach (born 1960) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox baseball biography"]

Field	Value
name	Terry Pendleton
image	Terry Pendleton March 2011.jpg
caption	Pendleton as a coach with the Atlanta Braves
position	Third baseman
bats	Switch
throws	Right
birth_date
birth_place	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
debutleague	MLB
debutdate	July 18
debutyear	1984
debutteam	St. Louis Cardinals
finalleague	MLB
finaldate	September 25
finalyear	1998
finalteam	Kansas City Royals
statleague	MLB
stat1label	Batting average
stat1value	.270
stat2label	Home runs
stat2value	140
stat3label	Runs batted in
stat3value	946
::

St. Louis Cardinals (–)
Atlanta Braves (–)
Florida Marlins (–)
Atlanta Braves ()
Cincinnati Reds ()
Kansas City Royals () As coach
Atlanta Braves (–) |highlights=
All-Star (1992)
NL MVP (1991)
3× Gold Glove Award (1987, 1989, 1992)
NL batting champion (1991)
Braves Hall of Fame Terry Lee Pendleton (born July 16, 1960) is an American former third baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played primarily for the St. Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Braves, but he also spent time with the Florida Marlins, Cincinnati Reds, and Kansas City Royals. After his playing career, he became a coach for the Braves. Pendleton holds the record for most World Series appearances without a championship win, alongside Rube Marquard and Fred Merkle, with 5 during his 15-year career.

Early life

Terry Lee Pendleton was born on July 16, 1960, in Los Angeles, California. Pendleton started his baseball career as an Eastside Little League player, and then he moved on to play second base at Channel Islands High School.

College career

Pendleton attended and played at Oxnard College from 1979 to 1980. The 1979 Oxnard team was the school's first team, and he helped lead the Condors to a state championship berth while earning a scholarship. He transferred to Fresno State for the 1981 and 1982 seasons, and he was a key contributor to the team's fourth consecutive conference title in the 1982 season, setting a school record with 98 hits on the season. Pendleton had his jersey retired in 2007, alongside the jerseys of Tex Clevenger and Jimy Williams.

Professional career

Draft and minor leagues

Pendleton was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the seventh round of the 1982 amateur draft and subsequently signed with the team on June 12, 1982.

Pendleton's minor league campaign began with the Johnson City Cardinals and the St. Petersburg Cardinals during the 1982 season. Pendleton was moved up to class AA baseball with the Arkansas Travelers for the 1983 season. Making steady progress, Pendleton was promoted to class AAA in 1984 and played for the Louisville Redbirds. After four games at second base, Pendleton became a third baseman, the position he would play the rest of his career. However, when Van Slyke committed 7 errors in 30 games, the Cardinals promoted Pendleton to the majors, and he began his major league career as the Cards' starting third baseman.

St. Louis Cardinals (1984–1990)

Pendleton made his major league debut on July 18, 1984, against the San Francisco Giants. In 67 games during the 1984 season, Pendleton had a .324 batting average, 20 stolen bases, and finished tied for seventh in Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award voting. The Cardinals advanced to the 1985 World Series, and Pendleton ended up hitting the Cardinals' only triple, doing so in the Cardinals' 3–0 Game 4 win. His statline for the 1986 season was only modestly better. His batting average remained low at .239 and he only hit a single home run, but he was able to steal 24 bases, hit 26 doubles, and 5 triples. St. Louis management became disappointed with Pendleton after this season, but manager Whitey Herzog pointed out to them that it was his base running and fielding (he led the National League in putouts and assists) that made him vital to the team's success.

Pendleton answered front office criticism in his best season to date, the 1987 season. He improved in many statistical aspects in which he was struggling, including raising his batting average to a respectable .286. Despite this injury, Pendleton's switch-hitting ability meant that he was able to be used as a left-handed designated hitter during three of the four games the Cardinals played at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. He finished the series by playing three games, getting three hits on seven at-bats as the Cardinals fell in seven games for the second time in three years.

As the 1988 season began, Pendleton seemed to struggle where he had flourished. Despite racking up 80 stolen bases in his first four seasons, he only stole three bases during the whole 1988 season; in fact, he went the rest of his career without stealing more than 10. Despite this, Pendleton hoped to rebound for the 1989 season. Rebounding was exactly what he did, as he played in all 162 games for the only time in his career, finished ninth in hits with 162, and earned his second Gold Glove with an impressive .971 fielding percentage. Despite an impressive 1989 season, Pendleton struggled during the 1990 season. His overall production declined that season, as evidenced by his .230 batting average and .277 on-base percentage,. By the end of the season, he was splitting time with rookie Todd Zeile. After the season ended, Zeile appeared to be the third baseman of the future for the Cardinals, and Pendleton became a free agent.

Pendleton is one of many major league players to have an error on a baseball card. His 1985 Donruss card lists him as Jeff Pendleton.

Atlanta Braves (1991–1994)

After Pendleton was granted free agency on November 5, 1990, and then inking Pendleton to a four-year, $10.2 million deal on December 3, 1990. With a new team and a new contract, Pendleton had a career year during the 1991 season, leading the Braves from a sixth-place finish the year prior to a division title and pennant. Pendleton also won the MLB Comeback Player of the Year Award because of his statistical improvements. In Game 7 of the series, Pendleton hit a double in the eighth inning that should have scored a run, however Lonnie Smith did not advance home, and a double play to end the inning kept the score at 0–0, leading to the Braves' eventual Game 7 defeat and Pendleton's third Game 7 World Series loss in a row.

As the 1992 season rolled around, Pendleton remained in peak form. In 160 games, Pendleton batted .311, hit 21 home runs, and scored 94 runs. This marked Pendleton's fourth World Series loss in four attempts. Pendleton continued to produce extra-base hits during the 1993 season, hitting 17 home runs and 33 doubles. However, he appeared to be showing signs of slowing down; although he placed second in at bats with 633, he led the National League in outs with 490. His batting average of .272 was notably lower than his previous two seasons, and his luck did not fare any better as the 1994 season rolled around. He spent part of the season on the disabled list because of spasms in his neck and back, and after only hitting .252 for the season, Pendleton opted for free agency.

Florida Marlins (1995–1996)

Pendleton was granted free agency on October 24, 1994, and he was picked up by the Florida Marlins on April 7, 1995. Pendleton improved his batting average to .290, and hit 14 home runs while playing in 133 games. Pendleton went on to play 111 games for the Marlins in 1996, hitting .251 with 7 home runs.

Atlanta Braves (1996)

After spending the 1995 and most of the 1996 on the Marlins, Pendleton was traded back to the injury battered Braves. Right-fielder David Justice was lost for the season with a shoulder separation in May, and shortstop Jeff Blauser suffered a broken bone in his left hand, which caused him to miss some playing time. Acquiring Pendleton meant Chipper Jones could play at his natural shortstop position while Pendleton played third. Pendleton was traded to the Braves on August 13, 1996, for minor league prospect Roosevelt Brown. He went on to play in the 1996 World Series—the fifth World Series of his career. However, he was used only in a limited role en route to a 6-game loss to the New York Yankees, leaving Pendleton 0-for-5 in his chances for a World Series ring.

Cincinnati Reds (1997)

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Terry_Pendleton_August_2011.jpg" caption="Pendleton as the Braves' first base coach, 2011."] ::

The Braves let Pendleton go after the 1996 season, and he signed on with the Cincinnati Reds on January 27, 1997. While with the Reds, Pendleton had three stints on the disabled list, and after his release, he spent the rest of the season recovering and did not sign with another club.

Kansas City Royals (1998)

In January 1998, the Kansas City Royals were looking for veteran leadership, and on January 20, 1998, signed Pendleton to provide a veteran presence and help mentor its younger players.

Career statistics

In 1893 games over 15 seasons, Pendleton posted a .270 batting average (1897-for-7032) with 851 runs, 356 doubles, 39 triples, 140 home runs, 946 RBI, 127 stolen bases, 486 bases on balls, .316 on-base percentage and .391 slugging percentage. Defensively, he recorded a .957 fielding percentage and led National League third basemen in putouts and assists five times each. In 66 postseason games, including 5 World Series, he batted .252 (58-for-230) with 26 runs, 12 doubles, 3 triples, 3 home runs, 23 RBI, 2 stolen bases and 12 walks.

Coaching career

Atlanta Braves (2002–2017)

After spending a couple years with his wife and three children, Pendleton got his first coaching job in November 2001 as the hitting coach of the Atlanta Braves. Pendleton served in that role through the 2010 season. In 2006, he was on a short list of manager candidates to replace Frank Robinson as manager of the Washington Nationals; a few weeks into the process, Pendleton withdrew himself from consideration. In 2007, Pendleton was also reportedly one of the front-runners to replace Tony La Russa as manager of the St. Louis Cardinals before La Russa ultimately decided to stay with the Cardinals. He was a candidate to replace Bobby Cox when the esteemed Braves manager retired at the end of the 2010 season.

When Fredi Gonzalez was announced as Braves manager after the 2010 season, Pendleton was moved from hitting coach to first base coach, where he replaced Glenn Hubbard. Gonzalez was fired and replaced by Brian Snitker in May 2016, and Snitker chose Pendleton as bench coach. Pendleton was replaced by Walt Weiss after the 2017 season.

References

Saladino, Tom. (1996-08-25). "ATLANTA CAN CHEER PENDLETON AGAIN.". [[Los Angeles Daily News]].
(2021-12-22). "“HOLD ON AND FIGHT” {{!}} Terry Pendleton, MLB player from Oxnard, offers his story and gives thanks".
"Oxnard College Graduate and World Series Baseball Player Presented with Statewide Distinguished Alumni Award {{!}} Oxnard College".
(2007-01-10). "Fresno State Baseball Begins Season with Busy Weekend". Fresno State Athletics.
"Terry Pendleton Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More".
"Terry Pendleton Statistics - The Baseball Cube".
(1983-08-01). "Class AA Notes". [[The Sporting News]].
"San Francisco Giants vs St. Louis Cardinals Box Score: July 18, 1984".
"1985 World Series Game 4 Box Score".
"1987 World Series by Baseball Almanac".
Markusen, Bruce. (25 April 2012). "A baseball card mystery: Who is Jeff Pendleton?". TheHardballTimes.com.
Chass, Murray. (1990-12-04). "BASEBALL; McGee Signed by Giants; Expos Retain Martinez". New York Times.
"Pujols wins first MVP award".
Curry, Jack. (1991-10-28). "WORLD SERIES; Pendleton Unable To Shake Dome Hex". The New York Times.
"Team: Manager and Coaches: Terry Pendleton 9".
Svrluga, Barry. (2006-10-06). "Nats Contact Braves About Pendleton". Washington Post.
Svrluga, Barry. (2006-10-25). "Braves' Pendleton Pulls Out Of the Nats' Manager Chase". Washington Post.
Strauss, Joe. (2007-10-09). "Cards antsy over La Russa's decision". [[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]].
(September 2010). "Braves to Hold Off on Announcing Skipper Replacement".
(January 25, 2011). "Terry Pendleton ready for new role as first-base coach". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
(May 18, 2016). "Pendleton, Perez discuss new roles, Snitker". MLB.com.
O'Brien, David. (2017-11-12). "Terry Pendleton, Eddie Perez out as Braves coaches, Walt Weiss added".

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