Pat Seerey

James Patrick Seerey

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 200 lb.
• High School Catholic High School for Boys (Little Rock)
• Debut June 9, 1943
• Final Game May 7, 1949
• Born March 17, 1923 in Wilburton, OK USA
• Died April 28, 1986 in Jennings, MO USA

BR page

Biographical Information

"Seerey did something that I never did. He hit four home runs in one game." - Ted Williams

Pat Seerey was an early version of the type of low-average slugger that became much more common in the 1980s with players such as Gorman Thomas, Rob Deer and Pete Incaviglia. He was heralded before he ever played at the major league level, partly for his fielding ability and partly because his portly frame made him seem more like a fan than a player. He was nicknamed, unkindly, "Fat Pat".

Seerey played seven seasons in the majors, hitting only .224 but getting enough walks to post a .321 on-base percentage. He had 86 home runs in the majors, with a high of 26 while playing for the Cleveland Indians in 1946, good enough for fourth in the American League. He also led the circuit four times in most strikeouts.

Coming up originally in 1943 as one of the youngest players in the league at age 20, Seerey played a lot of all three outfield positions and never played in the infield.

Seerey's minor league career stretched from 1941 to 1951.

On July 18, 1948, playing for the Chicago White Sox in a game against the Philadelphia Athletics, he became just the fifth player in major league history to hit four home runs in one game. Less well remembered is the fact that on July 13, 1945, he hit three homers and a triple in a game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium.

None of the ten most-similar players identified by the similarity scores method is from his era, so none of them seem convincing comparisons. As for Thomas, Deer and Incaviglia (mentioned above), they all had longer careers and hit more home runs than Seerey.

Seerey was a top high school football player and two of his sons were college soccer players. One of his sons was named to the 1980 Olympics team which wasn't allowed to compete in Moscow.

Notable Achievements

• 20-Home Run Seasons: 1 (1946)

Related Sites

• Pat Seerey at the SABR Bio Project