Mike Patrizi saw 4 seasons, high-A, became firefighter
Going into the 1990 draft, one scout assessed Pennsauken catcher Mike Patrizi to The Philadelphia Inquirer.
"Patrizi is an athlete," the unnamed scout told The Inquirer. "He has a good body, he can run, he's strong, he has good arm strength, he has power and he has nice athletic tools."
Whether it was from that scout or another, scouts from the Mets saw enough in Patrizi to to select him in the fourth round of that year's draft. He went on to a career that spanned four seasons. He topped out ta high-A.
He's since used his body and strength in an arguably more important profession, in a career firefighting.
Patrizi's baseball career began that year in 1990, taken by the Mets in the fourth round out of Pennsauken High in New Jersey.
Upon being drafted by the Mets, Patrizi called it "the greatest thing I could have heard," according to The Inquirer.
"It was great because the one team I love is the Mets," Patrizi told The Inquirer. "If I had to pick a team, it would have been the Mets. I've always enjoyed watching them. They're just a dream team for me."
Patrizi started with the Mets in the rookie Gulf Coast League. He saw 30 games, mostly at catcher, and hit .178.
He moved to rookie Kingsport for 1991 for another 32 games and hit .194. In 1992, he played at single-A Columbia and got into 73 games while hitting .217.
Patrizi returned to see time in one more season. He played two games at single-A Capital City with the Mets and seven with high-A Kinston with the Indians to end his career.
He soon returned home to New Jersey and, by 1998, had become a firefighter in New Jersey's Cherry Hill. He spoke to The Camden Courier-Post in 2011 for a "Where are they now?" piece. He credited his parents and siblings as his greatest influences.
"They just taught me to work hard and be the best I can be and good things will happen," Patrizi told The Courier-Post then.
- Philadelphia Inquirer, June 4, 1990: The Scout says it's just Patrizi
- Philadelphia Inquirer, June 5, 1990: Patrizi is Mets' fourth-round pick
- Camden Courier-Post, March 20, 2011: Where are they now?
Made the Majors:1,468-31.8%
Never Made Majors:3,152-68.2%-X