TODAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY

November 5, 1991 — Terry Pendleton of the Atlanta Braves wins the National League Most Valuable Player Award. The third baseman led the National League in batting average (.319) and hits (187), tied for first in total bases (303) and was third in slugging average (517). Pendleton will also be named NL Comeback Player of the Year, becoming the first major player to raise his average 80 points and add 16 home runs (from 6 to 22). He also wins his third Gold Glove Award. Barry Bonds is runner-up, as the two will switch places next year.

Originally trained to play second base, the switch-hitting Pendleton moved to third in the Cardinals' organization, and became a highly touted prospect for his slick fielding. Though he won his share of Gold Gloves, he matured into a talented hitter as well, becoming the catalyst in the Braves' offense in the early 1990s that began their dominance throughout the decade. He played through hamstring pulls and injuries, but twists and bruises to other parts of his body would slow him down significantly. He never earned a World Series ring despite making it to the Fall Classic five times.

The St. Louis Cardinals were so impressed by the young Pendleton before the 1984 season that they traded Ken Oberkfell, the incumbent third baseman, and temporarily tried outfielder Andy Van Slyke at the hot corner while their prospect got some Double-A experience. But when Van Slyke made seven errors in 30 games at the hot corner, the Redbirds promoted Pendleton to the bigs. He secured the job by batting .324 over 67 games for the Cards, taking advantage of Busch's spacious outfield with his sharp line drives.

St. Louis began to sour on Pendleton after the 1986 campaign, when he batted a sluggish .239 and hit just one home run in 578 at-bats. But manager Whitey Herzog pointed out to the Cardinal brass that it was Pendleton's great range, lightning reflexes, and a rifle arm at third that the team needed -- indeed, he was the National League leader in chances, putouts, and assists in '86. His defense, combined with a blossoming basepath savvy (24 stolen bases that year), kept him in the lineup the following season.

Pendleton rewarded his manager's loyalty by placing second on the team in homers, third on the team in RBIs, tying for third in stolen bases, and winning his first of three Gold Gloves. But though he helped the Cards move into the World Series for the second time in three years, Pendleton was hampered by a rib injury in the playoffs. He only got seven at-bats in the championship, though he totaled three hits and a pair of runs in the losing effort to the Minnesota Twins.

Over the next three years, Pendleton's production tailed off. Along with extended stints on the disabled list in both 1988 and 1990, the team began to platoon him with Todd Zeile and Denny Walling when his play declined. Over the three-year span, the third baseman hit just .251 with 25 homers, and recorded an on-base percentage below .300 in two of the seasons.

Pendleton signed a free-agent deal with the Atlanta Braves in December 1990, and exploded, leading the cellar-dwelling team from a sixth-place finish the year before to the NL pennant in '91. Igniting the Braves' offense, Pendleton hit a league-leading .319, and notched 34 doubles, eight triples, and 22 homers. In the seven-game losing effort against the Minnesota Twins in the World Series, he contributed two homers and a .367 average. And though he didn't even make the All-Star team, the third baseman took home the Most Valuable Player Award at the end of the year.

Pendleton's Braves would eventually dominate the 1990s, but the stout third baseman enjoyed the ride for just a couple of years. Pendleton possibly bettered his MVP year with his '92 campaign, leading the Braves in most offensive categories. He matched his 303 total bases from '91, and set career highs of 105 RBIs and 22 homers while winning his third Gold Glove.

Over the next two years Pendleton remained a clubhouse leader, but his production dropped significantly. Spasms in his neck and back forced him to the DL in '94, and at the end of the season, with a .252 average and seven homers in 77 games, he opted for free agency.

Pendleton signed on with the Florida Marlins in April 1995, raising his average to .290, but missed time during the year for his first career suspension, sentenced after he bumped an umpire in May. Suffering through a .251 average and just seven homers the following year, the Marlins sent the slumping Pendleton back to the Braves in August 1996 in exchange for prospect Roosevelt Brown.

Happy to be playing for the city where his family had lived since he first signed in Atlanta, Pendleton became the Braves' starting third baseman for the team, when Chipper Jones moved to shortstop to compensate for an injury to Jeff Blauser. But for the fifth time, Pendleton would be denied a World Series ring as the New York Yankees bested the Braves in the championship.

Pendleton moved to the Cincinnati Reds in January 1997, but was released in July after three stints on the disabled list, and spent the rest of the year recuperating. He signed with the Kansas City Royals in January 1998 when the club sought to provide some leadership for their younger players. As a part-time designated hitter and backup third baseman to Dean Palmer, Pendleton batted .257 over 79 games. However, when a strained ribcage sidelined him in June, it was clear that his optimal health and playing days were over.

Amidst little fanfare, Pendleton retired in December 1998. "It's time for me to be home with my family," the pudgy third baseman said. "I think it's where the good Lord wants me."

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This day in baseball has a deeper dive into every event from November 5

November 5, 1932 — In the Pacific Coast League, Tony Freitas of the Sacramento Solons pitches the first night game no-hitter, stopping the Oakland Oaks, 2 – 0, in nine innings.

November 5, 1936 — The Dodgers name Burleigh Grimes as their new manager. The former Brooklyn spitballer will be replacing Casey Stengel, who was fired last month during the World Series after compiling a 208-251 (.453) record during his four-year tenure. The Dodgers for a short period will be paying 3 managers, Max Carey, Grimes and Stengel.

Grimes will last two seasons and win only 131 games and lose 171.

November 5, 1940, In his bid to represent Maryland’s sixth congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives, baseball legend Walter Johnson narrowly loses to William D. Byron, the Democrat incumbent, who will die in a plane crash in February. The Hall of Fame right-hander, elected as a Montgomery County Commissioner in 1938, receives 47% of the vote, but cannot overcome his opponent’s opportunity to ride FDR’s coattails. Johnson previously entered the Hall of Fame in 1936.

November 5, 1968 — Pitcher Denny McLain, a 31-game winner for the American League champion Detroit Tigers, is the unanimous choice as American League Most Valuable Player.

McLain also earned his second All-Star berth and won the 1968 American League Cy Young Award, as well as the American League Most Valuable Player Award, the first by an American League pitcher since Bobby Shantz in 1952 and the first by a Tiger since fellow pitcher Hal Newhouser‘s back-to-back honors in 1944 and 1945. He was the first pitcher in American League history to win the Most Valuable Player Award and the Cy Young Award in the same season. St. Louis Cardinal Bob Gibson won the National League’s Most Valuable Player Award that same year, making 1968 the only season to date in which a pitcher won the MVP Award in both leagues.

November 5, 1996 — New York Yankees shortstop, Derek Jeter (.314, 10, 78) is the unanimous choice of the 28 BBWAA scribes for the American League’s Rookie of the Year. The 22 year-old shortstop is the eighth Yankee freshman to be honored, the first since Dave Righetti copped the award in 1981.

Jeter becomes the eighth Yankees player to win the award and the fifth unanimous choice in American League history.

November 5, 1997 – In an unprecedented move, Davey Johnson resigns the same day he is named American League Manager of the Year. Despite the fact that Johnson ended the Baltimore Orioles’ 13-year playoff drought in 1996 and led the Orioles to the league’s best record in 1997 (98-64), a dispute over $10,500 in fines to second baseman Roberto Alomar ends Johnson’s reign in Baltimore. Johnson directed the fines to be paid to a charity. Orioles owner Peter Angelos is upset with the way the matter is handled and Johnson resigns.

November 5, 2010 — One of the approximately 60 rare T206 Honus Wagner baseball cards, auctioned off by the Baltimore-based School Sisters of Notre Dame, is acquired by a sporting card store owner Doug Walton, who pays $262,000 for the treasured piece of memorabilia. The School Sisters of Notre Dame plan to use the windfall from the sale of the valuable card of the Pirates’ third baseman to benefit ministries for the poor in 35 countries.

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