Autographs of Freddie Patek
Freddie Joseph Patek (/ˈpɑːtɛk/; born October 9, 1944), nicknamed "the Flea" or "the Cricket", is an American former professional baseball shortstop who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Kansas City Royals and California Angels. At 5 feet 5 inches (165 cm) tall, he was the shortest MLB player of his time.
Patek was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 22nd round of the 1965 Major League Baseball draft out of Seguin High School in Seguin, Texas. He made his major league debut on June 3, 1968, against the Los Angeles Dodgers at shortstop, and played all but six of his 292 games with the Pirates at shortstop. However, with All-Star Gene Alley firmly entrenched at shortstop there was a desire on the part of management to convert him into a utility player.
Patek was traded along with Bruce Dal Canton and Jerry May from the Pirates to the Royals for Jackie Hernández, Bob Johnson and Jim Campanis at the Winter Meetings on December 2, 1970. In his first season with the Royals, Patek hit for the cycle on July 9, 1971, and led the American League with 11 triples to finish sixth in A.L. M.V.P. balloting. He earned his first of three All-Star selections the following season, and was a staple of the Royals line-up that won the American League West from 1976 through 1978. He led the American League with 53 stolen bases in 1977. For 8 consecutive years, Patek posted 30 or more stolen bases and he led the American league in double plays turned 4 straight years. A memorable image was captured by NBC television of Patek sitting painfully alone in the Royals' empty dugout while the New York Yankees celebrated on-field their come-from-behind victory to win the last game of the 1977 American League Championship Series, played in Kansas City on Patek's 33rd birthday. The game and series ended when Patek grounded into a double play. He was the starting shortstop for the American League in the 1978 All-Star Game.
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Current items with a signature of Freddie Patek
These are the most current items with a signature of Freddie Patek that were listed on eBay and on other online stores - click here for more items.
Traded items with a signature of Freddie Patek
The most expensive item with a signature of Freddie Patek (Freddie Patek (TOUGH AUTOGRAPH) 1971 Topps KC Royals SIGNED CARD RARE) was sold in February 2026 for £78.10 while the cheapest item (Freddie Patek (TOUGH AUTOGRAPH) 1982 Topps Angels, KC Royals SIGNED CARD RARE) found a new owner for £17.00 in February 2025. The month with the most items sold (12) was June 2026 with an average selling price of £48.31 for an autographed item of Freddie Patek. Sold items reached their highest average selling price in February 2026 with £78.10 and the month that saw the lowest prices with £17.00 was February 2025. In average, an autographed item from Freddie Patek is worth £52.80.
Most recently, these items with a signature of Freddie Patek were sold on eBay - click here for more items.
