Terry Pendleton, one of Fresno State’s all-time greats, played fifteen years in the major leagues, winning the National League Most Valuable Player award, three Gold Gloves, and went to the World Series five times. After his first year in Little League at age nine, Pendleton said he was the worst player on the team and begged his parents to let him quit. He stuck with the game and made the all-star team the following year as a shortstop. After Oxnard Junior College, he chose to play for Coach Bob Bennett’s Bulldogs and blossomed. He led the Dogs to two Pacific Coast Athletic Association conference titles, topping the team in hitting and defense during the 1981 and 1982 seasons.

In 1982, he set the Bulldog season hits record with ninety-eight while batting .397, slamming twelve home runs and driving in sixty-five runs. This production led the slick-fielding, switch-hitting Pendleton to receive All-American honors. Following the 1982 college baseball season, the St. Louis Cardinals drafted Pendleton in the 7th round. He was sent to the big leagues in 1984.

In 1982, he set the Bulldog season hits record with ninety-eight while batting .397, slamming twelve home runs and driving in sixty-five runs. This production led the slick-fielding, switch-hitting Pendleton to receive All-American honors. Following the 1982 college baseball season, the St. Louis Cardinals drafted Pendleton in the 7th round. He was sent to the big leagues in 1984 after leading Double- and Triple-A teams in batting and fielding.

The third baseman won two of his Gold Glove Awards and went to the World Series twice with the Cardinals. In 1991, the Cards granted Pendleton free agency and he moved to the Atlanta Braves in a deal that paid big dividends for the Braves. That first year in Atlanta, Pendleton led the National League in batting average (.319), hits (187) and total bases (303) while winning the NL most valuable player award. In 1992, he had another great year for the Braves, with a .311 batting average, 199 hits, a third Gold Glove, and was the starting third baseman for the National League in the All-Star game. He also finished second, to Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants, in the 1992 National League MVP race. “T.P.” spent four years with the Braves and was granted free agency again. He signed with the Florida Marlins in 1997 and then got picked up by the Cincinnati Reds.

In 1998, Terry was a Kansas City Royal and then retired at the end of the season. Pendleton batted.298 in World Series games with twenty-eight hits, seven doubles, a triple, and two home runs. He was hired in 2002 as hitting coach for the Braves and in 2007, Fresno State retired his #8 Bulldog uniform, placing it on the left field fence at Pete Beiden Field.