Hall of Fame
Steve Patchin, a 1968 graduate of Joplin High School, received a scholarship to the University of Missouri after batting .457 his senior year in high school. Steve was a member of the first freshman class eligible for varsity baseball. A catcher, he started every game except one as a freshman, batted. 397 and led the Big Eight Conference in home runs and runs batted in. He was named NCAA District 5 All-American as a freshman and sophomore. He started every game as a sophomore and junior and was named Who’s Who in College Sports in1969. He was drafted No. 1 by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the secondary phase in 1971; started pro career in Medford, Oregon. Played 13 games in Medford, 48 games in Bakersfield, CA and 14 games in Albuquerque, N.M. Batted .343 with 70 RBI and 15 home runs in 1972 for Bakersfield in 70 games. Promoted to El Paso of the Texas League and batted .315 for the rest of the season. Led the Waterbury, Connecticut Dodgers in batting in 1974 with a .297 average, third best in the Eastern League and was named to the league all-star team. Following the 1975 season, Steve was traded to the Kansas City Royals organization as the Dodgers had two young catchers at the major league level in Steve Yeager and Hoe Ferguson. Played at Omaha, Nebraska in 1976 and 1977 and was named to the American Association all-star team in 1976. Kansas City traded Steve to the Detroit organization after the 1967 season and he played for he Evansville Triplets, the Tigers’ AAA farm club from 1978-1981. Named MVP of the 1979 American Association championship after hitting four home runs and driving in 10 in six games. Steve retired from pro baseball after the 1981 season and has made Evansville his home. He had three son: Heath, Seth, and Tyler.
