8 April 1969 - Marty Pattin
“Wait ‘till next year.” ~ The unofficial slogan of the Brooklyn Dodgers
Every season we experience Opening Day, depending on the schedule, your home opener may be delayed a series or two, but each team has its opening day. As I’ve mentioned previously it is a magical experience. Bringing out hope for each player on each team. At some point in the season, it becomes a reality that this season might be a lost cause and the old cry of “wait ‘till next year” is thought about and sometimes even heard said. But next year, hope springs eternal with another Opening Day.
Well, what if your franchise only plays one season? This occurred with the Seattle Pilots who after losing money after their inaugural season were sold to Bud Selig and moved on April 1, 1970, to Milwaukee, Wisconsin and played as the Brewers. There is much more to the story, but this to the “reader’s digest” version for now. (Expect to hear more about the Pilots in future blogs with some personal accounts). Their only season record was 64-98, finishing 33 games behind the AL West division winner Minnesota Twins and only 5 games behind the other expansion team Kansas City Royals. Sadly, the Seattle Pilots didn’t have a “next year”.
The Seattle Pilots, an expansion team in the American League had their very first game, their Opener, in this case, their first regular season game on April 8, 1969, in Anaheim, California against the California Angels. They also earned their first franchise win that day 4-3. Their lineup was:
1. Tommy Harper (2B)
2. Mike Hegan (RF)
3. Tommy Davis (LF)
4. Don Mincher (1B)
5. Rich Rollins (3B)
6. Jim Gosger (CF)
7. Jerry McNertney (C)
8. Ray Oyler (SS)
9. Marty Pattin (P)
Managed by Joe Schultz
NOTE: The abomination on the game, the Designated Hitter rule wasn’t in effect for the American League until 1973. In 1969, pitchers were complete baseball players, they batted and ran for themselves.
So, a great trivia question, who recorded the first win for the Seattle Pilots? It was the starting pitcher, Marty “Duck” Pattin. For the record, Jack Aker was credited with the “save”, Tommy Harper had the first hit, a lead-off double and Mike Hegan hit the franchise’s first home run. But let’s look at the starting pitcher.
(Found on the internet. Assuming Public Domain.)
Marty Pattin, April 6, 1943 – October 3, 2018. Was a right-handed pitcher and hitter. He was 5’11” and weighted 180lbs. His MLB debut was on May 14, 1968, for the California Angels and his final game was October 1, 1980, for the Kansas City Royals, His win-loss record was 114-109, earned run average 3.62 and threw 1,179 career strikeouts. He pitched for the California Angels (1968), Seattle Pilots (1969), Milwaukee Brewers (1970-71), Boston Red Sox (1972-73) and the Kansas City Royals (1974-1980). He was on the American League All-Star team in 1971. He had a solid career.
He was born and died in Charleston, Illinois. When he was in 5th grade at Washington Elementary, he pitched for his school team and lost a game to a 5th grade girls’ softball team; this may have ended his career. As a youngster he was obsessed with mimicking the cartoon character, Donald Duck, hence his nickname. He decided that perhaps he should concentrate more on his pitching rather than imitating a voice, and it worked. While in high school (Charleston High) he threw 3 no-hitters. Later he attended Eastern Illinois University and once struck out 22 batters in a game for the Panthers. He owns numerous records at both his high school and at EIU. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Education and eventually a master’s from EIU as well. But it was his performance on the baseball team that decided his future along with a Philadelphia Phillie’s scout who told him he was too short to pitch in the majors. He had talent and determination. With these assets, Pattin made it to the majors.
After a 13-year career in the majors, Pattin retired. A year later, in 1981 was hired as the head coach of the University of Kansas’ baseball, he served in this position from 1982-87. Marty enjoyed watching his son Jon play minor league baseball from 1989-91 at the Class-A level and then coached two years in the Toronto Blue Jays organization, followed by an additional two years coaching in Seoul, South Korea for the Gold Star Twins. He had married while in college and in 1996 his wife Vera passed from cancer. He second wife, Joy also died of cancer in 2009. Marty passed away in his sleep while visiting friends in 2018 at the age of 75.
Marty Pattin had a fine career in baseball, and it seemed a fine life in general. He will always carry the distinction of being the very first pitcher to take the mound in a Pilots uniform and their only opening day pitcher. He was a solid player who was in the right place at the right time in history, he had talent and that’s why he was in that unique place. Remember him fondly.
~ Coach Mike
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