Home > Freddie Patek

Patek made his major league debut in 1968 with the Pirates, but made a name for himself after he was traded in 1970 to Kansas City, where he would lead the league in triples in 1971 and stolen bases in 1973. Not normally a power hitter—he hit 41 home runs in 1,650 games over his career—Patek became the second shortstop, after Ernie BanksErnie Banks (born January 31, 1931) is an American former Major League Baseball player who played from 1953 to 1971. Banks is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. His nickname was Mr. He was born in Dallas, Texas, signed with the Kansas City Monarchs of, to hit three home runs in a single game on June 20June 20 is the 171st day of the year (172nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 194 days remaining. Events 1214 University of Oxford receives its charter. 1685 Monmouth Rebellion: The Duke of Monmouth declared himself King of England at Bridgwa, 1980See also 1979 in sports, other events of 1980, 1981 in sports and the list of 'years in sports'. Auto Racing Stock car racing: NASCAR Championship Dale Earnhardt Buddy Baker won the Daytona 500 CART Racing Johnny Rutherford won the season championship Ind while playing for the Angels. Patek was better known for his speed and his defensive abilities. Former manager Whitey HerzogWhitey Herzog (born November 9, 1931) is a former major league baseball player and manager. He was born Dorrel Norman Elvert Herzog in New Athens, Illinois. As an outfielder and left-handed batter, Herzog played for the Washington Senators (1956-58), Kans called Patek the best artificial turfIn sports that were originally or are normally played on grass, artificial turf is a grass-like playing surface manufactured from synthetic materials. Artificial turf first came to prominence in 1965, when AstroTurf was installed in the newly-built Astrod shortstop he ever managed, ranking him even higher than Ozzie SmithOsborne Earl Smith universally known as Ozzie Smith (born December 26, 1954), is a former Major League baseball player born in Mobile, Alabama. Smith is a 13-time Gold Glove shortstop who was elected to the United States Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002..

Patek retired after the 1981See also 1980 in sports, other events of 1981, 1982 in sports and the list of 'years in sports'. Auto Racing Stock car racing: NASCAR Championship Darrell Waltrip Richard Petty won the Daytona 500 CART Racing Rick Mears won the season championship Indiana season with a career batting averageBatting average is a statistic in both baseball and cricket measuring the performance of baseball hitters and cricket batsmen, respectively. Batting average in baseball In baseball, the batting average is defined as the ratio of hits to at bats. The Major of .242.

A member of the Kansas City Royals Hall of Fame , baseball analyst Bill James ranked Patek the 14th best player in Royals' history.