Terry Pendleton

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.

During his 15-year career, he went to the World Series five times, yet his team never won a championship.

After his playing career, he became a coach for the Braves.

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.

Pendleton's fielding efforts led to his earning his first Gold Glove, the first by a Cardinal third baseman since Ken Reitz in 1975, as well as finishing tied for 17th in MVP voting.

He 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.

He was recognized as an All-American.

He 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.

He was selected to the league's all-star team.

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.

The Cardinals were so impressed with Pendleton's development as a third baseman in Louisville that they traded their starting third baseman, Ken Oberkfell, to the Atlanta Braves and temporarily placed Andy Van Slyke at third base while Pendleton continued to gain experience.

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.

Pendleton made his major league debut on July 18, 1984, against the San Francisco Giants.

Batting sixth in the lineup, he made an immediate impact, getting three hits in five at-bats en route to an 8–4 victory for the Cardinals.

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 1985 season saw Pendleton remain in the starting lineup at third base.

His batting average trailed off, and he only hit .240 for the season and was caught stealing 12 times; he had 17 stolen bases on the season.

He hit an inside-the-park grand slam off Joe Sambito when Danny Heep collided with Terry Blocker in right-centerfield in the fifth inning of an 8–2 win over the New York Mets in the second game of a doubleheader at Shea Stadium on June 9, 1985.

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.

He was a strong contributor to the team's pennant win, placing second on the team in home runs, third in runs batted in, and tied for third in stolen bases.

Unfortunately, as the Cardinals reached the 1987 World Series to play the Minnesota Twins, Pendleton ended up sidelined for most of the series with a rib cage injury.

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.

Injuries also plagued him in 1988, as he missed a few weeks with a right hamstring injury and had arthroscopic surgery in mid-September, which cut his season short.

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.

Pendleton had his jersey retired in 2007, alongside the jerseys of Tex Clevenger and Jimy Williams.