Patterson grew up in the Pittsburgh suburb of Oakdale, Pennsylvania, where his dad and brother currently live. He attended West Allegheny High School where he still holds the single season strikeout record. Following high school, he attended Allegany College of MarylandinCumberland, Maryland. Afterward, he attended West Virginia State, where, during his senior season he threw a perfect game and was also awarded the 2002 WVIAC Pitcher of the Year.
Patterson was re-signed by the New York Yankees as a free agent on November 16, 2007,[1] after spending most of the previous two seasons with their Double-A affiliate, the Trenton Thunder. Prior to spending time in the Yankees organization, he was in the Frontier League, an independent baseball league, for 41⁄2 seasons.
On June 1, 2008, Patterson was called up to the major leagues for the first time and made his major league debut for the Yankees that day in a loss to the Minnesota Twins.[2] Patterson was optioned back to the minors on June 3, 2008, after only pitching in one game.[3] He was designated for assignment on September 8, 2008[4] and was claimed off waivers by the San Diego Padres three days later.[5] He would end up pitching in three games for the Padres in September. On August 20, 2009, Patterson was traded to the Oakland Athletics for cash considerations.[6]
On January 7, 2010, Patterson signed a minor league contract with the Boston Red Sox.[7] On August 5, 2012, Patterson joined the New York Mets organization and was assigned to Triple-A Buffalo.[8] He was released on August 16.[7]
