Patrick James Light (born March 29, 1991) 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 ...

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 ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for 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 ...

and

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

. In early 2023, Mr. Light attempted to move on from his baseball past, and adopted the moniker, “Business Pat”, which mainly includes posting inspirational tweets and drinking. Although, now he is starting to return to his previous lifestyle as Baseball Pat.

Amateur career

While pitching at high school, Light posted a 20–0 record with a 1.52

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

for the Christian Brothers Academy in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, en route to set the best season pitching record in

Shore Conference The Shore Conference is an athletic conference of private and public high schools in the U.S. state of New Jersey, centered at the Northern Jersey Shore. All schools in this conference are located within Monmouth County, New Jersey, Monmouth County ...

history. The

selected Light in the 28th round of the 2009 draft, but he went on to college instead. Attending

Monmouth University Monmouth University is a private university in West Long Branch, New Jersey. Founded in 1933 as Monmouth Junior College, it became Monmouth College in 1956 and Monmouth University in 1995 after receiving its charter. There are about 4,400 full- ...

, he went 14–14 with a 3.84 ERA and 196

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s in 39 appearances from 2010 to 2012, ranking No. 53 on ''

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 ...

's'' preseason Top 100 list of 2012 draft prospects. In the summer of 2010, Light was an NECBL All-Star, pitching for the

Newport Gulls The Newport Gulls are a wooden-bat, collegiate summer baseball team based in Newport, Rhode Island. The Newport Gulls Baseball Club is a member of both the New England Collegiate Baseball League and the NECBL's Coastal Division. Since 2001, the Gu ...

. In 2011, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Chatham Anglers The Chatham Anglers, more commonly referred to as the Chatham A's and formerly the Chatham Athletics, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Chatham, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in t ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

Professional career

Boston Red Sox

The

selected Light in the first round (37th overall) of the

2012 MLB draft The 2012 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 4 through June 6, 2012, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Houston Astros, with the first overall pick, selected Carlos Correa from the Puerto R ...

. Light made his professional debut in 2012 with the Short-Season A

Lowell Spinners The Lowell Spinners were a baseball team based in Lowell, Massachusetts. From 1996 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYPL) as the Class A Short Season affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. With Major League ...

, where he posted a 0–2 record with a 2.37 ERA in 12 starts, allowing eight runs (seven earned) on 27 hits and five walks, while striking out 30 in innings of work. He then joined the Low A

Greenville Drive The Greenville Drive are a Minor League Baseball team based in Greenville, South Carolina. They are the High-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox and are a member of the South Atlantic League. They play their home games at Fluor Field at the West En ...

in 2013, but suffered a partial tear in his right hamstring that was initially misdiagnosed before all-but-ending his season in early June. He returned in late August for a rehab assignment with the

GCL Red Sox The Florida Complex League Red Sox are a professional baseball team competing in the rookie-level Florida Complex League (FCL) of Minor League Baseball. The team is owned and operated by the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). Prior ...

, where he pitched six innings of shutout ball in three appearances. Being limited to innings at Greenville, he went 1–4 with 28 strikeouts and an ERA of 8.06. Light returned to Greenville in 2014 and earned a promotion to the High-A

Salem Red Sox The Salem Red Sox are a Minor League Baseball affiliate of the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB), based in Salem, an independent city adjacent to Roanoke, Virginia. The team competes at the Single-A level in the Carolina League. Ho ...

during the midseason. He went 8–6 with a 4.83 ERA in 25 starts between Greenville and Salem, striking out 76 batters while walking 37 in innings. After making 49 starts over his first three seasons, Light was told he would be changing roles and throwing out of the bullpen when he reported to Double-A

Portland Sea Dogs The Portland Sea Dogs are a Minor League Baseball team based in Portland, Maine, playing in the Eastern League (1938–present), Eastern League. Established in 1994, the Sea Dogs are the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red ...

to open the 2015 season. With the Red Sox relief pitchers finishing last in fastball average velocity in 2014, and giving another hard-throwing prospect

Matt Barnes Matt Barnes (born March 9, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player who played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Barnes was drafted in the second round of the 2002 NBA draft by the Memphis Grizzlies. He ...

a chance as a reliever, the organization decided to increase velocity out of the bullpen more than it had before. Light delivered a solid start to his 2015 season after being moved to the bullpen. He regularly reached 94–96 mph with his heavy fastball, reportedly touched 100 mph at times, and reintroduced a splitter, which he had used successfully before being drafted in 2012. As a result, Light went 1–1 with a 2.43 ERA and three saves in 21 games at Double-A Portland, allowing 11 walks and striking out 32 in innings, while holding opponents to a .168 batting average. He then earned a promotion to the Triple-A

Pawtucket Red Sox The Pawtucket Red Sox, known colloquially as the PawSox, were a professional minor league baseball club based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. From 1973 to 2020, the team was a member of the International League and served as the Triple-A affiliate ...

in the month of June. Light was 3–5 with five saves and a 3.88 ERA in the two stints, totaling innings pitched to go with 67 strikeouts and 37 walks. Light opened 2016 at Pawtucket. He was promoted to the Boston Red Sox on April 24. After giving up six runs, including two home runs, in a July 2 game against the

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

, he was demoted back to Pawtucket.

Minnesota Twins

On August 1, 2016, the Red Sox traded Light to the

for

Fernando Abad Fernando Antonio Abad (; born December 17, 1985) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He previously played in MLB for the Houston Astros, Washington Nationals, Oakland Athletics, Minnesota Twins, Boston Red Sox, San F ...

. Light was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the pla ...

by the Twins on February 6, 2017.

Pittsburgh Pirates

On February 9, 2017, Light was traded to the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

for cash considerations or a player to be named later. The Pirates designated Light for assignment on June 10, 2017.

Seattle Mariners

On June 17, 2017, Light was claimed off waivers by the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

. He was released on April 19, 2018.

Player profile

Light had a heavy fastball which could top out at . He also had an slider, with a changeup as a work-in-progress. He was projected as a

reliever In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weather ...

, with potential as a

setup man In baseball, a setup man (or set-up man, also sometimes referred to as a setup pitcher or setup reliever) is a relief pitcher who regularly pitches before the closer. They commonly pitch the eighth inning, with the closer pitching the ninth. A ...

or closer.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Light, Pat 1991 births Living people Baseball players from New Jersey Boston Red Sox players Chatham Anglers players Christian Brothers Academy (New Jersey) alumni Criollos de Caguas players Greenville Drive players Gulf Coast Red Sox players Indianapolis Indians players Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente pitchers Lowell Spinners players Major League Baseball pitchers Minnesota Twins players Monmouth University alumni Monmouth Hawks baseball players Pawtucket Red Sox players People from Colts Neck Township, New Jersey Portland Sea Dogs players Rochester Red Wings players Salem Red Sox players Sportspeople from Monmouth County, New Jersey Tacoma Rainiers players