Freddie Patek Stood Tall Among 1970s Shortstops

His cardboard origins reflected an encounter with a 'Future Star'

1969 Topps Freddie Patek (#219) - Card of the Day

If baseball had come courting my young heart a couple years earlier than it did, there’s no doubt Freddie Patek would have been one of my favorite players.

As fate would have it, I started accumulating a few baseball cards in 1981, just in time to catch Patek in his Angels uniform and even score a couple of 1982 career-cappers. But those cards and baseball itself meant nothing to me until 1983, when the bug bit me hard.

By then, Patek’s big league career was two years in the rearview mirror, and his cards were mostly relegated to the commons bin. But as I dove deep into diamond history, especially as the Royals slashed toward their breathtaking championship in 1985, I found out that Patek had once stood among baseball’s stars…even if he didn’t stand very tall.

Patek started his pro career in modest fashion, selected in the 22nd round of the 1965 draft by the Pirates. After a three-year minor league climb, he spent parts of the next three seasons (1968 through 1970) in Pittsburgh.

He also scored his first Topps card, that 1969 Topps number you see above. Patek had arrived, though as a prototypical light-hitting middle infielder.

Fate intervened in the status quo in December 1970, though, when the Bucs traded Patek, Bruce Dal Canton, and Jerry May to the Royals for Jim Campanis, Jackie Hernandez, and Bob Johnson.

In Kansas City, 26-year-old Patek took the starting shortstop job for 1971 and rewarded manager Bob Lemon with six home runs, 49 stolen bases, and a majors-leading 11 triples. He also scored 86 runs and played like a Gold Glover at short.

The Royals had found a key piece of their core. Over the next eight seasons, Patek was an All-Star three times while playing a standout short and regularly stealing 30-plus bases. He even led the American League with 53 steals in 1977.

Along the way, K.C. won their first three division titles, from 1976 through 1978.

Patek hit free agency after a down season in 1979 that saw him play just 106 games and steal 11 bases while getting nabbed 12 times. He signed with the Angels for his age-35 and -36 seasons, while U.L. Washington took over the hole in Kansas City.

Patek’s two seasons in California were nothing to write home about, as he split time at short with Bert Campaneris the first year and backed up Bobby Grich at second in 1981.

Even so, his numbers stood out like a sore thumb when I started to learn more about the man. And the number that stood out maybe more than any other was 65 — his height in inches.

As a short (and fat) kid who loved baseball, finding out that a 5’5” guy had put together a 14-year career, had been an All-Star, had helped build a great team…well, it was a shot in the arm.

Freddie Patek gave all us “little” kids some hope.

Alas, having never seen him play, the impression Patek left on me was shallower than some of the more contemporary diminutive diamond denizens made — Joe Morgan, Rafael Belliard, Onix Concepcion.

When it comes to the cards in my collection, though? Patek is the O.G — the Original Gnat.

And today, Freddie Patek turns 80 years old

Claude Osteen, Future Star

Patek made his big league debut on June 3, 1968, drawing the start at shortstop and leading off for the Pirates against the Dodgers in Dodger Stadium.

The first pitcher he faced was Claude Osteen, who coaxed the compact infielder into a groundout to start the game. Osteen would set down Patek three more times that Monday night.

Patek wasn’t alone in his futility against the Los Angeles lefty, though. Osteen went the distance and allowed just nine baserunners (seven hits, two walks) and no runs while striking out six in the Dodgers’ 2-0 victory.

Osteen was in the midst of a somewhat down season that saw him go 12-18 with a 3.08 ERA (not all that stingy in the Year of the Pitcher).

He would bounce back to win 20 games in 1969, though, and again in 1972, en route to an 18-year career that yielded a 196-195 record with a 3.30 ERA. After he retired in the mid-1970s, Osteen started a long career as a pitching coach in the majors and minors.

That’s where we found Osteen in 1990, when he appeared on a “future stars” card when he was in his early 50s while coaching for the Albuquerque Dukes.

See, there’s always hope!

Read all about Osteen the prospect right here.

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And with that, I’ll bid you adieu on this October Hump Day. May your “hump” be Freddie Patek-sized (as opposed to, say, Frank-Thomas-Big-Hurt-sized), giving you a clear shot into the weekend.

Thanks for reading.

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