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Patek would go on to broadcast games for NBC, the White Sox and the Rangers during the next few years before working in the restaurant business and then returning to the game as a coach. Deeply committed to his Christian faith, Patek overcame society’s height bias to appear in 1,650 big league games and totaled 1,340 hits and 385 steals. He was promoted to Double-A Asheville and finished the season at Triple-A Columbus, where he began the 1967 season. He led the International League with 42 steals while hitting .255, then was sent to the Florida Instructional League – a showcase for the game’s top prospects.
He had chances to add to his home run total but settled for a double in the sixth, a groundout in the eighth and an RBI single in the ninth. Winfield said after that it was the best game of his storied career. Anderson became just the 13th player in Major League history to record 10 RBIs in a game when he accomplished the feat in an 18-9 win over the Yankees at Angel Stadium. He went 4-for-6 with two homers -- a grand slam and a three-run blast -- and two doubles. Most impressively, Hall of Famer Mike Mussina started the game for the Yankees and Anderson ripped a two-run double off him to start things off in the first inning. He helped chase Mussina from the game in the second, when he smacked an RBI double to score Vladimir Guerrero as part of a five-run rally.
Fred Patek
Anderson's three-run shot came in the third off Edwar Ramirez, and he capped his incredible game with a grand slam off lefty Sean Henn in the sixth. He had a chance to add more in the eighth with runners at the corners and two outs, but he grounded out to shortstop. But leg, neck and shoulder injuries slowed Patek for most of the second half of 1980 – and he finished the season batting .264 with 41 runs scored and seven steals in 86 games.
Herzog saw Patek as the prototype to play the position in the ’70s. Patek’s play also earned him his second All-Star Game appearance. Fred Patek holds a special place in the heart of many older Royals fans. He was a centerpiece of the great Royals teams from 1976 to 1978. Though he never played in the World Series, he played very well in 1976 and 1977 ALCS against the Yankees, batting .389 in both 1976 and 1977, going an identical 7 for 18 in both series. Fred struggled in the 1978 ALCS, going only 1 for 13, but that hit was his only post-season home run.
A Giant October Surprise
Just as he had as a player, Fred Patek, Jerri and Heather, gave everything they had at helping Kim. Following his playing days, Patek was a television broadcaster for the Texas Rangers in 1985. He was inducted into the Kansas City Royals Hall of Fame in 1992. Patek hit .252 in 106 games in 1979 but found no shortage of suitors when his contract expired after the season. He quickly signed a three-year contract with the Angels worth a reported $525,000 on Dec. 5, 1979.
“I could be called by another club, but it is highly unlikely. Only Mark Belanger and Bert Campaneris recorded better defensive WAR seasons among shortstops in the 1970s. Belanger won seven Gold Glove Awards during the decade and was largely responsible for Patek being shut out of the award during his career. In just their third season of play, the Royals finished and in second place in the AL West. Patek finished sixth in the AL Most Valuable Player Award voting. Murtaugh returned as Pirates manager for the 1970 season, and Patek rode the bench for much of April as Alley regained the starting shortstop job.
California Angels
Then in December of 1980, the Angels acquired All-Star shortstop Rick Burleson from the Red Sox, effectively turning the 36-year-old Patek into a bench player. Over the ballpark’s remaining 12 years, only one other player, Jim Lemon in 1956, would park three over the fence—but that was after they had finally brought in the fences a great deal to promote more home runs. By mid-May of 1976 the Royals claimed first place in the division for the rest of the year. The team jelled with the emergence of future Hall of Famer George Brett, stars Amos Otis and Hal McRae, and pitchers Dennis Leonard and Paul Splittorff. Patek stole over 50 bases for the first time and six other players stole 20 or more bases for a franchise record .
All images are property the copyright holder and are displayed here for informational purposes only. Much of the play-by-play, game results, and transaction information both shown and used to create certain data sets was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by RetroSheet. After the 1912 season two of New York's three baseball teams changed ball parks. Freddie Patek played alongside future Hall of Famer George Brett for six seasons in Kansas City. “This is the first time I’ve missed an Opening Day in 15 years,” Patek told the Seguin Gazette-Enterprise.
Merv Connors, September 17, 1938
The Royals obtained spot starter Bruce Dal Canton, catcher Jerry May, and Patek. Surprisingly, the Pirates offered the Royals a choice between Patek and Alley, hoping they would take the older, injury-prone vet.33 The Royals wisely picked Patek, who was pleased he could now bat leadoff and steal more bases. “I want to go someplace where I can utilize my speed,” he said. When I came to Pittsburgh from Columbus … I was aggressive. Everybody said I gave the club a big lift.”34 He soon gave a lift to the Royals with a career year in 1971. He played only one year in high school and caught the attention of scouts while playing ball in the Air Force.
Merv Connors had eight career home runs, the fewest career home runs by any player with a 3-homer game on their resume. Babe Ruth was the first player to hit three home runs in game at least once both leagues, once with the New York Yankees in 1930, and once in the National League, with the Boston Braves in 1935. Alas, McCullough’s shots, all solo, wouldn’t be enough for the Cubs, who lost 4-3. It was the first time—but not the last—in which a team lost while one player accounted for all of its runs on three solo homers. He had a .242 batting average, 1,340 hits, 41 home runs, 490 RBIs and 736 runs scored. Patek and the Bucs had to wait until December to find a trading partner.
That more players didn’t collect three homers in any one game at Lakefront—or that nobody did it four times—is something of a miracle. By July 23, the team replaced him with Whitey Herzog.38 The Royals reclaimed second place, but Patek continued to struggle at the plate. He returned to deliver a 10th-inning hit to beat Minnesota, 6-5, on August 4. Three days later he stung the Twins again, hitting his sixth and final leadoff home run, an inside-the-park round-tripper to start a 10-2 romp.39 On the bases he extended his streak of 30-plus steals with 32 thefts. The Royals finished as bridesmaids again to the Athletics, who won their fifth straight division crown.
Sanders is re-joining the Atlanta Falcons, the team he plays cornerback for during the football season. Wade Boggs went 5-for-7 with three doubles for Boston, but the game would have lasted even longer than the five hours it took at Fenway Park without Clark's winner off Steve Chitren (1-3). Rafael Palmeiro , David Ortiz , and Gary Sheffield are the only 500 Home Runs Club members without a 3-homer game. Glynn ended up in the minors a year later, never to return to the majors—where his 10 homers is second only to Merv Connors in terms of the fewest among those with a three-homer game to their credit. Just seeing Joltin’ Joe’s name above will leave some to scratch their heads because, hey, wasn’t the great Yankee Clipper capable of hitting three home runs any ol’ time? Sure—but not when he came to spacious Griffith Stadium in Washington.
Washington positioned as the Royals’ shortstop of the future, Patek maintained his regular role despite leading AL shortstops with 32 errors that season. Patek finished the 1970 season with a .245 batting average and eight steals over 84 games, helping the Pirates win the National League East title. But on Dec. 2, 1970, the Pirates shipped Patek to the Royals along with Bruce Dal Canton and Jerry May in exchange for Jim Campanis, Jackie Hernández and Bob Johnson. Born Oct. 9, 1944 in Oklahoma City, Patek was raised in Seguin, Texas. His mother and father were both softball players, and Patek starred on the baseball field while working for the family’s butcher shop before graduating high school and being drafted into the Air Force.
They did it so long that I went back out and tipped my hat. That’s really unique for a visitor, but Fenway and the Boston fans were special.”52 His outburst also produced a career-high seven RBIs. Days later, Patek talked about his playing bonus to manager Jim Fregosi, who reminded GM Buzzy Bavasi. “It was a $25,000 or $50,000 bonus and when I got close to 100 games, they sat me on the bench.”53 He realized that Bavasi had ordered his playing time to rookie Dickie Thon to save the bonus money.
Home Runs in a game: smallest (Freddie Patek), biggest.
Patek hit .241 with 51 stolen bases that season and kept a promise by jumping into the Royals Stadium fountains – in uniform – with longtime second base partner Cookie Rojas the day after Kansas City clinched the division title. In 1973, the Royals moved into Royals Stadium, and Patek loved the new surroundings – leading the league’s shortstops in double plays for the third straight year while finishing second in assists and third in putouts . The next season, Patek tied a record by leading the league in double plays for the fourth season in a row.
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