Freddie Patek

Shortstop · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1968-1981)

Freddie Patek was a shortstop who played in Major League Baseball from 1968 to 1981 for the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Kansas City Royals, and the California Angels, a span of 14 seasons. In 1,650 career games, he hit .242 with 1,340 hits, 41 home runs, and 490 RBI. Freddie Patek was a 3-time All-Star.

AVG (Batting Average):
Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
HR (Home Runs):
Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
RBI (Runs Batted In):
Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.

Data updated

AVG .242
HR 41
RBI 490
H 1,340
OPS .633
PIV -7,331
Position
Shortstop
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
5'5" / 148 lb
Born
10/9/1944 in Oklahoma City, OK, USA
MLB Debut
1968-06-03
Last Game
1981-10-03
Awards
3× All-Star

Full name: Frederick Joseph Patek

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Career Batting Statistics

Freddie Patek — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,650 5,530 736 1,340 216 55 41 490 385 523 787 .242 .309 .324 .633 -7,331

Career AVG .242 vs. league average .255 across their career seasons — 5.1% below league average.

Career OBP .309 vs. league average .322 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .324 vs. league average .375 across their career seasons — 13.7% below league average.

Career OPS .633 vs. league average .696 across their career seasons — 9.2% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Freddie Patek Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1968 PIT NL 61 208 31 53 4 2 2 18 18 12 37 .255 .236 (+8%) .298 (avg) .340 (-5%) .638 (-3%) -105.7
1969 PIT NL 147 460 48 110 9 1 5 32 15 53 86 .239 .248 (-4%) .320 (-1%) .369 (-20%) .689 (-11%) -644.2
1970 PIT NL 84 237 42 58 10 5 1 19 8 29 46 .245 .253 (-4%) .325 (-1%) .385 (-11%) .711 (-7%) -262.9
1971 KCA AL 147 591 86 158 21 11 6 36 49 44 80 .267 .249 (+7%) .316 (+2%) .365 (+1%) .682 (+2%) 137.4
1972 KCA AL 136 518 59 110 25 4 0 32 33 47 64 .212 .243 (-13%) .310 (-10%) .353 (-22%) .664 (-16%) -1240.2
1973 KCA AL 135 501 82 117 19 5 5 45 36 54 63 .234 .256 (-9%) .325 (-4%) .378 (-15%) .703 (-10%) -751.1
1974 KCA AL 149 537 72 121 18 6 3 38 33 77 69 .225 .256 (-12%) .324 (avg) .369 (-19%) .693 (-10%) -707.3
1975 KCA AL 136 483 58 110 14 5 5 45 32 42 65 .228 .257 (-12%) .327 (-11%) .374 (-18%) .701 (-15%) -1115.9
1976 KCA AL 144 432 58 104 19 3 1 43 51 50 63 .241 .255 (-6%) .320 (-1%) .360 (-15%) .681 (-8%) -489.6
1977 KCA AL 154 497 72 130 26 6 5 60 53 41 84 .262 .264 (-1%) .329 (-3%) .401 (-8%) .730 (-6%) -496.3
1978 KCA AL 138 440 54 109 23 1 2 46 38 42 56 .248 .257 (-4%) .323 (-4%) .378 (-16%) .702 (-10%) -666.3
1979 KCA AL 106 306 30 77 17 0 1 37 11 16 42 .252 .265 (-5%) .329 (-11%) .397 (-20%) .727 (-16%) -806.6
1980 CAL AL 86 273 41 72 10 5 5 34 7 15 26 .264 .264 (avg) .326 (-7%) .387 (+1%) .714 (-3%) -182.6
1981 CAL AL 27 47 3 11 1 1 0 5 1 1 6 .234 — — — — 0.0
Career · 14 seasons 1,650 5,530 736 1,340 216 55 41 490 385 523 787 .242 — — — — -7,331

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Freddie Patek — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
15 52 8 15 5 1 1 11 3 9 .288

Playoff Batting by Year

Freddie Patek — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1978 ALCS KCA 4 13 2 1 0 0 1 2 1 4 .077
1977 ALCS KCA 5 18 4 7 3 1 0 5 1 2 .389
1976 ALCS KCA 5 18 2 7 2 0 0 4 0 1 .389
1970 NLCS PIT 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 .000

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1650 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Freddie Patek — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home844280239372015263.257
Away806272834362026226.227

Last 10 Games — Batting

Freddie Patek — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1981-10-03 LAATEXL 300000000
1981-10-02 LAATEXL 000000000
1981-09-30 LAACHWL 000000000
1981-09-27 LAATORL 000000000
1981-09-26 LAATORW 101000000
1981-09-25 LAATORW 201000000
1981-09-08 LAAKCRL 000000000
1981-08-28 LAABALW 000000000
1981-08-27 LAABALL 000000000
1981-08-25 LAABOSW 000000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Freddie Patek — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
2B 16 10 27 31 1 8
3B 8 1 1 9 1 0
OF 5 4 9 0 0 0
SS 1588 1527 2690 4786 293 1004

Season-by-Season Fielding

Freddie Patek — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1968 PIT 3B 1 1 1 2 0 0
1968 PIT OF 5 4 9 0 0 0
1968 PIT SS 52 49 80 164 6 23
1969 PIT SS 146 141 227 399 30 81
1970 PIT SS 65 57 122 212 10 42
1971 KCA SS 147 145 301 459 25 107
1972 KCA SS 136 133 230 510 22 113
1973 KCA SS 135 131 242 503 26 115
1974 KCA SS 149 145 250 493 25 108
1975 KCA SS 136 133 231 405 27 78
1976 KCA SS 143 140 233 426 26 87
1977 KCA SS 154 148 252 413 29 70
1978 KCA SS 137 134 240 350 32 84
1979 KCA SS 104 95 153 249 19 54
1980 CAL SS 81 75 129 199 16 42
1981 CAL 2B 16 10 27 31 1 8
1981 CAL 3B 7 0 0 7 1 0
1981 CAL SS 3 1 0 4 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Freddie Patek Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Second Base 16
Third Base 8
Shortstop 1587
Left Field 2
Right Field 3
Designated Hitter 2

Award Voting History

Freddie Patek — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1971 Most Valuable Player AL 6th 77.0 336 0

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Freddie Patek (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Monte Cross
    .234 avg, 31 HR
  2. 76
    Terry Turner
    .253 avg, 8 HR
  3. 74
    Jimmy Austin
    .246 avg, 13 HR
  4. 74
    Wid Conroy
    .248 avg, 22 HR
  5. 67
    Buck Herzog
    .259 avg, 20 HR
  6. 62
    Julio Cruz
    .237 avg, 23 HR

Freddie Patek: the record in brief

Freddie Patek played a first major league game on June 3, 1968 and a last one on October 3, 1981. Patek played for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1968 to 1970), the Kansas City Royals (1971 through 1979), and the California Angels (1980 through 1981). Patek is listed as a shortstop at 5 feet, 5 inches and 148 pounds. Patek both batted and threw right-handed, per the bio block. Patek was born on October 9, 1944, in Oklahoma City, OK, USA. Patek's full given name, per the bio, is Frederick Joseph Patek.

Across 1,650 games at the plate, Patek's career line reads 1,340 hits in 5,530 at bats for a .242 average; the totals also include 41 home runs, 490 runs batted in, and 385 stolen bases. Patek's career OPS of .633 combines a .309 on-base mark with .324 slugging. Patek's .242 average ran 5.1% below the .255 that the league posted over the same seasons. By OPS the gap is 9.2% below league average (.633 against .696). No season topped the 158 hits of 1971. The RBI column peaks at 60 in 1977.

Frequently Asked Questions about Freddie Patek

What years did Freddie Patek play?
Freddie Patek played in Major League Baseball from 1968 to 1981.
Was Freddie Patek a pitcher?
No. Freddie Patek was a position player (Shortstop).
How many home runs did Freddie Patek hit?
Freddie Patek hit 41 career home runs with 1340 hits.
What was Freddie Patek's career batting average?
Freddie Patek batted .242 over his career, with 1,340 hits in 5,530 at bats.
How many RBI did Freddie Patek have?
Freddie Patek drove in 490 runs in his career.
Is Freddie Patek in the Hall of Fame?
No. Freddie Patek has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.