John Patterson (pattejo02)

John Hollis Patterson

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 5", Weight 183 lb.
• High School West Orange-Stark High School
• Debut July 20, 2002
• Final Game May 5, 2007
• Born January 30, 1978 in Orange, TX USA

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Biographical Information

John Patterson was 1-0 with a 1.39 ERA and 12 strikeouts in 13 innings for Team USA in the 1999 Pan American Games to help Team USA qualify for the 2000 Olympics. He was one of four players selected in the first round of the 1996 amateur draft to be declared free agents as the result of a technicality. In Patterson's case, he had been drafted by the Montreal Expos with the 5th overall pick. The others in his situation were Travis Lee (2nd overall), Matt White (7th overall) and Bobby Seay (12th overall); Lee and Patterson ultimately signed with the expansion Arizona Diamondbacks for much greater bonuses than they would have otherwise received, while White and Seay ended up with the D-Backs' brethren in expansion, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The loophole the four had used was closed after that draft.

He pitched for Arizona in 2002 and 2003, then was traded to the Expos, the team that had originally drafted him, in return for Randy Choate just before the 2004 season. In 19 starts for Montreal, he went 4-7, 5.03, but after the team relocated to Washington, DC as the Washington Nationals, he was one of the team's best pitchers, along with veteran Livan Hernandez, going 9-7, 3.12 in 31 starts in 2005. That year, he set personal bests for innings (198 1/3) and strikeouts (185). However, injuries got the best of him after that, and he only won one game each in 2006 and 2007. He ended his career with an overall record of 18-35 and an ERA of 4.32.