This story was excerpted from Mark Bowman’s Braves Beat publication. To learn the complete publication, click on right here. And subscribe to get it usually in your inbox.
ATLANTA — Terry Pendleton is without doubt one of the most influential Braves of all time. Together with serving to flip the franchise round throughout his 1991 Nationwide League MVP season, he has spent the previous 25 years serving as an extremely invaluable coach and teacher all through the group.
TP can also be among the finest human beings you’ll ever encounter. It’s by no means been about him. So, I suppose I shouldn’t have been shocked when he knowledgeable me he just lately retired after which made positive we stored the concentrate on Andruw Jones earlier than probably doing a narrative on him subsequent week.
Pendleton’s duties as a particular assistant in Atlanta’s participant growth division may be full. However the 65-year-old baseball lifer appears ahead to persevering with to complement the baseball world together with his nice data and fantastic tales, just like the one in regards to the day Willie Mays had a jaw-dropping praise for Jones.
When Jones was elected to Baseball’s Corridor of Fame on Tuesday, he acknowledged that Mays had as soon as advised him he was the most effective defensive heart fielder he had seen. However Pendleton supplied slightly extra readability to the story, which occurred whereas he was serving as Atlanta’s hitting coach.
“We have been enjoying the Giants in San Francisco and we went out to observe them end up their BP to speak to Barry [Bonds]. Willie Mays simply occurred to be on the market that night. We’re all standing across the cage speaking whereas the Giants are ending up their final couple of rounds of hitting. Now, this isn’t one thing someone advised me. That is one thing I heard myself.
“Willie Mays and I are speaking about various things which have occurred with swings and gamers and all these things. And Willie turns to Andruw Jones and says, ‘Hey child, hear, I need to let you know one thing.’ All of us appeared as a result of Willie Mays was speaking. All conversations ended there as a result of we’re listening and studying. And he turns to Andruw and says, ‘Hear, you’re the most effective heart fielder I’ve ever seen play this sport.’
“I used to be like, ‘Oh my God, the most effective has simply advised Andruw he was the most effective he’s ever seen.’ For that to come back out of Willie Mays’ mouth, that’s particular.”
Jones’ election to the Baseball Corridor of Fame was actually particular for the Braves group. And it was cool to listen to Brian Snitker say how excited he might inform Bobby Cox was when he referred to as him to debate the election outcomes. Cox’s communication abilities stay restricted following a 2019 stroke, however Snitker might inform his Corridor of Fame mentor was beaming with pleasure.
“There’s by no means been larger Braves followers than Gator [Ralph Garr], Knucksie [Phil Niekro] and Andruw,” Snitker mentioned. “That was an important day for thus many individuals related to the Braves.”
Pendleton has the distinctive honor of claiming he was with the 1996 Braves when Jones debuted, and he was with the 1998 Royals when Carlos Beltrán, this yr’s different HOF electee, debuted. However the brotherhood he nonetheless shares with Jones was primarily shaped whereas served as the middle fielder’s hitting coach with Atlanta from 2002-07.
“There have been days I needed to kill him after I was a hitting coach, however that stubbornness in him can also be what made him so darn good,” Pendleton mentioned. “Any of these Corridor of Famers, they needed to have some cocky confidence in them to get the place they received. Some present it in several methods. Andruw is simply a type of children. He had that cocky confidence about him. Andruw did not discuss quite a bit. Then, as he received older, he did. There have been days I needed to close his mouth. However I like him dearly.”
What have been some examples of this stubbornness? Effectively, how about when Jones needed to make vital adjustments to his swing after he had his nice 51-homer season in 2005? And there have been different stretches the place the 10-time Gold Glover wouldn’t conform to make changes till he was a pair weeks right into a stoop.
“There have been occasions the place I attempted to get him to cease doing issues, and he was simply cussed,” Pendleton mentioned. “I’d get so pissed off with him. Chipper [Jones] would go, ‘Hey, simply go away him alone. He is about to come back to you. Simply go away him alone. Let him go and do what he is doing.’ Lastly, in the end, Andruw would stroll into the clubhouse and he’d be yelling from one facet to the opposite, ‘TP, TP, you need to go hit within the cage?’ I used to be like, ‘Why do we now have to go from .280 to .250 earlier than making an attempt to determine what was occurring?’”
Now Pendleton can simply snort about these sorts of experiences.
“He’s like slightly brother to me,” Pendleton mentioned.
That’s type of how Chipper Jones, Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz and Fred McGriff considered the good outfielder, who was simply 19 when he turned their teammate. However now they only know him as a fellow Corridor of Famer.
