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Vol. 4

I collected baseball cards when I was young. Out of every box of 500, there were 498 that were non-distinct. But those other two were priceless gems. Before my memory fades, I am going to try to chronicle some of my favorites.

Freddie Patek
1972 Topps - Card #531
1972 Topps #531 Freddie Patek Front

This is the card from one of my favorite players as a kid, from my favorite Topps set. I own 71% of the cards in this set and my Holy Grail is to obtain the rest.

In Patek's first year with the Royals, 1971, he led the league with 11 triples and had 49 stolen bases. He finished 6th in the A.L. MVP voting. In 1972, he was selected as a starter for the All-Star game, despite hitting only .225 with zero home runs that year. He stole over 50 bases in 1976 and 1977 and had two more All-Star game appearances (this when there are only 12 teams in each league). His speed and reliable fielding netted him 24.1 WAR over his career which places him just outside of the top 1,000 all-time. J.J. Hardy had 28.1 WAR for a more recent comparison.

Patek is listed at 5'5" and by my recollection, that is generous. His height, or lack thereof, is what defined him as a player. I am quite confident that had he been 5'10" he would not have had as long of a career. When he was first called up by the Pirates in 1968, a reporter asked him how it felt to be the shortest player in the Major Leauges. He famously answered, "It feels a lot better than being the shortest player in the Minors."