Career
As an amateur, he played at College of the Sequoias when the Los Angeles Dodgers signed him in 1964. Detroit drafted him from the Dodgers following the 1964 season. He pitched a total of three innings in Games 3 and 4 and did not allow an earned run.
Foreign his career he compiled an 11–9 record with a 4.09 earned run average and 142 strikeouts in 142 appearances, most as a relief pitcher.
In 1974, Patterson was involved in a brawl during a game with the Cincinnati Reds where he was bitten by Reds pitcher Pedro Borbón. Patterson received a tetanus shot after the incident.