Corey Patterson was drafted out of high school 3rd overall in 1998 by the Cubs and became the top prospect in baseball by the end of 1999. He would eventually make his debut for the Cubs as a September call up in 2000. Patterson would take time to establish himself in 2001 before eventually playing regularly in 2002. His batting slash line throughout his career was routinely below league average but he was able to find playing time with his speed and his glove in the outfield.
After battling some injuries and poor play the Cubs eventually traded Corey Patterson to the Orioles for a couple of minor leaguers in 2006. He would spend 2 years with Baltimore playing over 130 games each season before becoming a free agent and signing with Cincinnati. After several other stops around the league, Patterson would land back in Baltimore for the 2010 season.
During the 2010 season Corey Patterson has what could be considered his signature moment as an Oriole. During a July game against the Rangers, who were in tje middle of what would eventually become back to back pennant winning seasons, Patterson hit his first and only career grand slam in the top of the 9th to break open a tie game. The home run came against eventual AL ROTY winner Neftali Feliz, which was one of only 3 losses by the rookie closer that year.
After the 2010 season Corey Patterson again left Baltimore and bouncing around the majors and minors of several different organizations. He would eventually retire and almost immediately start a coaching career before the start of the 2014 season. He, a long with his brother and fellow major leaguer Eric, have been coaching at various different levels for almost a decade now. Sometimes on the same team or on opposing teams in the same league. As of this season Corey is a manager in the Sunbelt Baseball League, a summer wood bat league for rising draft eligible collegiate players. His brother Eric used to manage a different team in the league but is now the bench coach for the Iowa Cubs.
Corey Patterson really never lived up to his prospect hype or his draft position, but even in his 3 years with the Orioles (mostly because the 00s Orioles had high player turnover and not a lot of superstars) he ranks near the top in several major categories for Oriole Outfielders in the 00s
Corey Patterson will always have a special place in my heart because the first Orioles jersey I remember ownkng as a kid was a Corey Patterson 17 jersey that an uncle of mine gifted me. The fact that Corey Patterson was one of the top selling Oriole jerseys in the 2007 off-season really says a lot about Orioles baseball during that time
3 comments
I don’t remember him wearing 6. That must have been after Mora left.
In those dark days when the stadium was almost empty, my friend yelled to CP from the bleachers “hey Corey, sock a dinger for my kid, he’s in the hospital watching and you’re his favorite player”. Next inning CP blasts a HR and points to the bleachers as he rounds the bases. The few fans in our section congratulate my friend and give him hugs.
The issue is, my friend didn’t have any children.
If only he didn’t fall in love with hitting home runs. When he bunted and used his speed, he was an offensive force but he’d hit a home run and for the next two weeks think he was a power hitter.