Sheffield Gets Nod From Pendleton : Baseball: Atlanta third baseman says he’d vote for Padre counterpart for MVP.

Third baseman Terry Pendleton meticulously pondered the question during the rainout Wednesday of the Braves’ game against the Padres. He started to talk, paused again, before the words finally emerged from his mouth.

Pendleton, the winner of the 1991 National League Most Valuable Player award, said if he were voting, he’d cast his vote for Gary Sheffield as this year’s MVP.

“I know guys will think I’m crazy for saying that,” Pendleton said, “but that’s the way it should be. Look at his numbers.”

Said Sheffield, a bit flabbergasted: “That’s awfully nice for him to say, but I’d pick Terry. The Braves are in first place, not us. And I think a player from the first-place team should be the MVP.”

The debate over who will be the MVP is expected to rage for the next two months until ballots are returned. The favorites are Sheffield and Pendleton. Padres first baseman Fred McGriff, outfielders Barry Bonds and Andy Van Slyke of the Pittsburgh Pirates, and second baseman Delino DeShields of the Montreal Expos also are strong candidates.

“I wouldn’t want to be voting, that’s for sure,” Padres right fielder Tony Gwynn said. “If you had to pick, though, I think it’d be Gary just because he’s been the biggest surprise of this whole league.

“Terry was supposed to do this. So was Fred, Barry and Van Slyke. But Sheff, come on, who thought he’d do this?”

Said Atlanta Manager Bobby Cox: “I don’t know what more you can say about the man that hasn’t already been said. Without Sheffield, they’re done. They’re not here battling for first place. He makes all the difference in the world in that lineup.”

Who’s to argue? Sheffield is tied with John Kruk of Philadelphia for the league lead with a .337 batting average. He trails Darren Daulton of Philadelphia for the league lead in RBIs by one. He ranks second only to McGriff with 24 home runs.

The Padres have used Sheffield’s talents to post a 63-51 record, their best since 1984. They are 5 1/2 games behind the division-leading Braves, and two games behind the second-place Cincinnati Reds.

The Padres, who were rained out for the first time since June 22, 1990 at Atlanta, will have their game rescheduled as part of a doubleheader Oct. 2 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. It means the Padres will end the season with four consecutive games in Atlanta in what may be a showdown to determine the division title and MVP award.

“I know I’m a little prejudiced,” said Padres General Manager Joe McIlvaine, who traded for Sheffield, “but who else could you vote for? He’s done it all.”

Said Pendleton: “The scary part is that you can see he’s going to be doing this for a long, long time.”

Sheffield has shown no tendency to wilt under pressure. He is batting .398 with 15 doubles, seven homers and 21 RBIs over his last 27 games. In the last two months--spanning 48 games--he’s batting .383 with 18 doubles, a triple, 14 homers and 48 RBIs.

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of his game has been his ability to hit in the clutch. He is batting .354 with runners in scoring position, and a whopping .419 with two outs and runners in scoring position.

“There’s no other way to put it,” McGriff said, “he’s shocked the house.”

Although McGriff might be the man who’ll prevent Sheffield from winning the triple crown, he’ll be as responsible as anyone for Sheffield’s accolades.

McGriff bats behind Sheffield in the lineup. As long as McGriff is on deck, pitchers will continue to challenge Sheffield instead of taking their chances with McGriff.

This is why McGriff has been walked a league-high 65 times this season, 11 intentionally. Sheffield has walked only 35 times, once intentionally.

“Fred makes it a whole lot easier,” Sheffield said. “If I was fortunate enough to win the MVP award, I should cut it up and give Fred half.”

If not for Sheffield, McGriff might be the leading candidate for the MVP award. Besides leading the league with 26 homers, he’s third with 76 RBIs, third with a .576 slugging percentage, and fifth with a .401 on-base percentage. The biggest difference is that Sheffield is hitting 37 points higher than McGriff.

“It’s been the toughest year of my career,” McGriff said, “just because I’m not seeing any pitches. I’ve been swinging at pitches that are out of the strike zone just so they’d challenge me.

“It’s different between me and Gary. Every year I have to prove myself. If I don’t hit my 30 home runs or don’t get my 100 RBIs, I had a bad year. It’s that simple.

“I’d love to hit .300, that’s my goal, just to prove people I can do it. I don’t want to be a home-run hitter, I want to be a complete player.

“If I do that, I’d be very happy.

“It’s just that Gary is having a career year.”