Jordan Patterson reflects on his first MLB hit

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In a year emblemized by debuts and MLB firsts, a few are bound to go a bit under the radar. But at this point, “under the radar” could be Jordan Patterson‘s long and unnecessarily cumbersome middle name.

In his first at-bat in his first start on Wednesday afternoon against the St. Louis Cardinals, Patterson recorded his first hit in the majors with a soft line drive single into center field.

“I got a decent pitch and was able to fight it off and kinda float it into centerfield.”

He says he will give the ball to his mom and dad.

“It’s your dream, it’s every kid’s dream, to get called up to the Major Leagues,” says Patterson, “I’m living that dream right now and it’s been awesome.”

“You think about when it’s gonna happen. For it to happen in the first at-bat of the first start, it was like ‘ok I got on the board’ … it was a great feeling.”

Much like Patterson’s entire 2016 season, it is a moment that can get lost in the shuffle of Trevor Story‘s 27 home runs, Jon Gray‘s 16 strikeouts, and David Dahl‘s 17-game hit streak.

But Patterson’s firsts, while not as flashy as others, may still be looked back upon as the start of something very special. In closing his post-game comments with the media, he confirmed his comfortability with playing first base, reminding us that his versatility will see him get plenty of chances to prove himself next season.

Time will tell if he factors in as a bench player or the answer to one of the most difficult questions facing this team — the future of first base — but I betting against him would be unwise if you believe at all that character and hard work play a role in developing a successful big leaguer.