Eric Scott Patterson (born April 8, 1983) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

left fielder In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...

and second baseman. Patterson made his MLB debut with the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

on August 6, 2007. He was the head coach of the Gwinnett Tides in the

Sunbelt Baseball League The Sunbelt Baseball League (SBL) is a non-profit collegiate summer baseball league with teams located in metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia, Columbus and Oxford, Alabama. The SBL is a member of the National Alliance of College Summer Baseball, which ...

. Patterson is currently the assistant hitting coach for the South Bend Cubs.

Baseball career

Georgia Tech

Although Patterson originally was drafted by the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

in the 23rd round of the

2001 MLB draft The 2001 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft, was held on June 5 and 6. First round selections Supplemental First Round Selections Compensation Picks Background On June 1, 2001, Rolando Viera, a Cuban ba ...

out of

Harrison High School Harrison High School may refer to: in the United States ''(by state)'' *Harrison High School (Harrison, Arkansas), listed on the National Register of Historic Places * Harrison High School (Colorado Springs) — Colorado Springs, Colorado * Har ...

Kennesaw, Georgia Kennesaw is a suburban city northwest of Atlanta in Cobb County, Georgia, United States, located within the greater Atlanta metropolitan area. Known from its original settlement in the 1830s until 1887 as Big Shanty, it became Kennesaw under its ...

, he did not sign and went on instead to attend the

Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

. With the

Yellow Jacket Yellowjacket or yellowjacket is the common name in North America for predatory social wasps of the genera ''Vespula'' and ''Dolichovespula''. Members of these genera are known simply as "wasps" in other English-speaking countries. Most of these ...

s, Patterson was named an

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

All-Star three times (2002–2004) and an

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n twice (in 2002 on the Freshman 1st Team, and in 2004 on the 3rd team). He was named to the

USA Baseball USA Baseball is the national governing body for organized baseball in the United States, and is a member of the United States Olympic Committee and the World Baseball Softball Confederation. The organization selects and trains the World Basebal ...

team twice, in 2002 and 2003.

Chicago Cubs

Patterson was selected in the 8th round of the 2004 MLB draft by the

. Patterson played in the 2006

All-Star Futures Game The All-Star Futures Game is an annual baseball exhibition game hosted by Major League Baseball (MLB) in conjunction with the mid-summer MLB All-Star Game. A team of American League-affiliated prospects competes against a team of National League ...

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, and was ranked the sixth-best prospect in the Cubs organization by ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

'' prior to the 2007 season. He collected his first major league

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

on August 7, by singling against

Woody Williams Woody may refer to: Biology * Pertaining to wood, a plant tissue and material * Woody plant, a plant with a rigid stem containing wood * Pertaining to woodland, land covered with trees * Woody, slang for a penile erection People and fictional c ...

in a game against the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

. On June 22, 2008, Patterson hit the first

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

of his career.

Oakland Athletics

On July 8, 2008, Patterson was traded along with

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

Sean Gallagher, outfielder

Matt Murton Matthew Henry Murton (born October 3, 1981) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Oakland Athletics, and Colorado Rockies. Murton also played in Nippon Professional ...

, and

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

Josh Donaldson Joshua Adam Donaldson (born December 8, 1985) is an American professional baseball third baseman for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Oakland Athletics, Toronto Blue Jays, Cleveland Indians, Atla ...

to the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

for

Rich Harden James Richard Harden (born November 30, 1981) is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched for the Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs, and Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball. Early years Harden attended Claremont Secondary S ...

and

Chad Gaudin Chad Edward Gaudin (; born March 24, 1983) is a former American professional baseball pitcher. He has been used as both a starting pitcher and a reliever throughout his career, functioning as a "swingman." Gaudin has pitched in Major League Ba ...

. On June 22, 2010, Patterson was designated for assignment to make way for

Coco Crisp Covelli Loyce "Coco" Crisp (born November 1, 1979) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and MiLB team manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, Kansas City Royals, and Oaklan ...

on the A's roster.

Boston Red Sox

On June 26, 2010, Patterson was traded to the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

for

Fabian Williamson, after

Dustin Pedroia Dustin Luis Pedroia (born August 17, 1983) is an American former professional baseball second baseman who played his entire Major League Baseball career for the Boston Red Sox, from 2006 to 2019. He was a four-time All-Star, and won the Americ ...

was placed on the disabled list having sustained a nondisplaced fracture of the navicular bone on his left foot. He played a career-high 90 games in 2010, split equally between Oakland and Boston.

San Diego Padres

On December 16, Patterson was traded to the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

to complete the deal that sent Adrián González to the

for

Casey Kelly Casey Patrick Kelly (born October 4, 1989) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the LG Twins of the KBO League. He was a first-round draft choice, 30th overall, in the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft by the Boston Red Sox. Kelly was ...

Anthony Rizzo Anthony Vincent Rizzo (born August 8, 1989) is an American professional baseball first baseman for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the San Diego Padres and Chicago Cubs. He is a three-time ...

, and

Reymond Fuentes Reymond Louis Fuentes (born February 12, 1991) is a Puerto Rican professional baseball outfielder who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres, Kansas City Royals and Arizona Diamondbacks. Early lif ...

. He was designated for assignment on June 9. He was released by San Diego on December 15, 2011.

Detroit Tigers

Patterson signed a minor league contract with the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

on January 4, 2012.

York Revolution

Patterson played for the

York Revolution The York Revolution is an American professional minor-league baseball team based in York, Pennsylvania. It is a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an independent baseball league, independent "partner lea ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...

Milwaukee Brewers

On July 12, 2013 The

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

signed Patterson and assigned him to their Triple A team

Nashville Sounds The Nashville Sounds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, and are named for the ci ...

Chicago White Sox

Patterson signed a minor league deal with the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

in January 2014. He was released in March.

York Revolution

Patterson signed with the

of the

for the 2015 season. He became a free agent after the 2015 season.

Personal life

Patterson's older brother—

Corey Corey is a masculine given name and a surname. It is a masculine version of name Cora, which has Greek origins and is the maiden name of the goddess Persephone. The name also can have origins from the Gaelic word ''coire'', which means "in a caul ...

, also drafted by the Cubs—is also an outfielder in MLB. His father,

Don Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin *Don, Dang, a vill ...

, was a

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

for two years in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL).

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Patterson, Eric 1983 births Living people Águilas Cibaeñas players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic African-American baseball players Baseball players at the 2003 Pan American Games Baseball players from Tallahassee, Florida Boston Red Sox players Chicago Cubs players Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets baseball players Huntsville Stars players Iowa Cubs players Lake Elsinore Storm players Major League Baseball left fielders Major League Baseball second basemen Mesa Solar Sox players Oakland Athletics players Pan American Games medalists in baseball Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States Pawtucket Red Sox players Peoria Chiefs players Sacramento River Cats players San Diego Padres players Tucson Padres players Toledo Mud Hens players United States national baseball team players West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx players York Revolution players Medalists at the 2003 Pan American Games 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people