Toronto pitching coach on the ball with big-league gesture

STEVE SMITH

A few days ago, I received an e-mail from my friend, Nate Adlen. The

message was remarkable for two reasons: it was the first e-mail I’d

ever received from him, and second, it contained some recollections

I’d completely forgotten.

Nate named a few names and events from as early as the fourth

grade, and it struck me at that moment that it’s hard to know what

kids will recall when they are much older. Often, it seems that kids

recall some of the more minute details of a certain day but can be

rather sketchy on the details of many of the bigger events in their

lives.

For example, I could not tell you how I celebrated my 10th

birthday, but I clearly remember the time when my brother, Larry,

poured a chocolate milkshake out the window of our dad’s moving car,

also when I was 10.

Two weeks ago, my son Roy, 11, was swimming in the pool at the

Marriott Hotel in San Diego, when a boy who was clinging to his dad’s

back came up beside him.

“Do you want to play with us?” asked the boy.

“Sure,” said Roy.

The highlight of Roy’s weekend thus far had been sitting five rows

behind home plate at San Diego’s Petco Park, the new home of the

Padres, where he saw the Padres lose to the Toronto Blue Jays.

The three new friends were playing for a few minutes when the boy,

named Jake, asked Roy if he wanted his dad to get him some

autographs.

Roy pressed for details and discovered that his dad is a fellow

named Gil Patterson.

Gil Patterson is not exactly a household name, one exception now

being our household.

In 1976, at the young age of 21, Gil Patterson was pitching for no

less than the New York Yankees. Patterson was a pitching whiz kid,

and the Yankees were counting him among those who would carry forward

the winning tradition.

Actually, there was more resting on Patterson’s young shoulders.

Here’s how the Batter’s Box Baseball Blog described the early days: “

... Gil Patterson, who wasn’t just a prospect, he was a full-fledged

phenom -- at age 21, the Philadelphia-born righty was in the New York

Yankees rotation, where he was expected to stay for many years. Gil

had amazing stuff and enough confidence to guarantee George

Steinbrenner 300 wins, but it was not to be.”

Although he doesn’t point fingers, blame anyone or show a trace of

bitterness, Patterson’s arm was quickly overworked and required eight

surgeries. He pitched just three games for the Yankees.

Today, Patterson is the pitching coach for the Blue Jays who,

coincidentally, were staying at the same Marriott hotel we were

enjoying.

From the moment Jake offered his dad’s services, Gil Patterson was

a class act. Knowing that he could not let down a fan, even a fan of

the Angels, Gil told Roy he’d try to get him a baseball autographed

by another Roy, Roy Halladay. Halladay, in case you missed it, is

last year’s American League Cy Young Award winner, the top honor each

year for major league pitchers.

“I’ll be back late,” Patterson told Roy, “But if you’re up, you

can come and get the ball.” The trio exchanged room numbers and Roy

(the Smith Roy), ran off to tell his mom and dad.

At 11:15 that night the phone rang in room 2024. Roy answered it

and was asked by Gil Patterson if he could speak to his mom or dad.

Roy handed me the phone and this guy, who did the right thing by

going to the parents of the kid he’d met, told me that he did in fact

have a Roy Halladay baseball in their room for our son.

We flew downstairs.

Upon our arrival, Roy got the Halladay ball. Roy then handed Gil

Patterson a brand new baseball that he just happened to take along

for the ride to San Diego. Roy asked Patterson for his autograph. “To

Roy,” reads the ball signed by Patterson, “The future Cy Young

winner.”

Yes, the Halladay baseball is nice. In fact, it’s in a special

clear baseball box next to my signed Willie Mays and Ernie Banks

baseballs. And I can’t speak for my son, but I appreciate the

Patterson ball as much.

It cost Gil Patterson nothing to make this dream come true for a

Little Leaguer, but he went way out of his way to get it done. What

Patterson did wipes out the snubbing Roy received from Angels Garrett

Anderson and Troy Glaus last season at a time when the two Angels

were in no hurry and had ample time to sign autographs for the four

kids who were waiting for them, a bad memory Roy has not forgotten.

Thanks, Roy Halladay, for the autographed ball. My son loves it.

And thanks, Gil Patterson, not only for getting the ball, but for

changing my son’s mind about how stars are supposed to react to fans

and also for permanently lifting him six feet off the ground.

He’ll never forget what you did.

* STEVE SMITH is a Costa Mesa resident and a freelance writer.

Readers may leave a message for him on the Daily Pilot hotline at

(949) 642-6086.