John Patterson

John Hollis Patterson (born January 30, 1978) is an American former professional starting pitcher. He played for the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals of the Major League Baseball (MLB). Career A USA Today prep All-American in his senior year at West Orange-Stark (Texas) High School, Patterson was drafted by the Montreal Expos in the first round (5th overall pick) of the 1996 MLB draft. Montreal lost the draft rights to Patterson on a legal technicality: they sent him a contract offer that was not printed on official team letterhead, and he signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks for $6.075 million. After a solid rookie season where he had a 3.22 earned run average (ERA), he had a disappointing season with the Diamondbacks. Patterson was traded back to the Expos prior to the season in exchange for Randy Choate, a left-handed relief pitcher. Always filled with immense potential – he featured a fastball in the mid-90s (miles per hour) along with a big curveball and a sharp slider – Patterson started to realize it while pitching for Montreal in 2004, when he had a 3.57 ERA in April. He got hurt soon after, though, and never regained his form for the rest of the year. Patterson had a breakout season in , posting a 9–7 record for Washington while setting career bests in ERA (3.13), innings pitched (198.3), and strikeouts (185) in 31 starts. His 15 no decisions were the most among MLB starting pitchers in 2005. On August 4, 2005, he pitched his first career complete game shutout against the Los Angeles Dodgers, with Washington winning 7–0. In 2009, Washington Post baseball writer Dave Sheinin named Patterson's performance the greatest pitching performance in Nationals history at that time.