Pattin arrived in town with Tommy Harper as part of the blockbuster trade with the Brewers that saw the Sox ship out The Boomer, 1967 hero Jim Lonborg, George Brett's older brother Ken, Tony C's younger brother Billy, backup catcher Don Pavletich, and young outfield Joe Lahoud. The Sox also got journeyman pitcher Lew Krausse in the deal.
I remember Pattin starting off his Red Sox career going 2-8 with a 5-something ERA and wondering "why the hell do the Sox have this guy?". He then went 14-5 the rest of the way, as he and Luis Tiant propelled the Sox into the first pennant race I remember, coming back from 8 games down to take a 1.5 game lead near the end of September. After the Sox lost the first 2 games of the season's final series against the Tigers, Pattin won the final game of that 3-game series in Detroit. That victory put the Sox a half-game back of the Tigers, where they would stay, having played one fewer game than Detroit due to a players strike at the start of the season.
The Charlie Finley A's would win it all that year after edging the Tigers in 5 games in the ALCS. The Sox went 9-3 against Oakland that season, so the season ended up as one of those near misses that was all too familiar to Sox fans.
Pattin would go 15-15 the following season for the Sox, fitting for a guy that finished with a 0.511 winning percentage and an ERA+ of 102. After that, he would be dealt to the Royals for reliever Dick Drago, who played a key role in the bullpen for the Sox in their 1975 season.
After 3 productive seasons with the Sox, Harper would be traded to the Angles for utility infielder Bob Heise in one of the team's more WTF trades. Harper's struggles with the racial climate in the Sox organization would later be well documented. Krausse would be released by the Sox after one mostly forgettable season. Pavelitch would be released by the Brewers at the end of Spring Training of 1972. Ken Brett would bounce around the majors for the next 10 years, even making 1 All Star appearance in 1974 while with the Pirates. Billy C would play for 2 more seasons, never quite showing the bat skills of his older brother. Lahoud would have one productive season with the Angels in 1974, but otherwise also bounced around for 7 more seasons following the trade. Lonborg would pitch one season for the Brewers, then be traded to the Phillies where he would win 17 and 18 games, but was generally no better than league average over his final 7 years, never coming close to sniffing that Cy Young again. George Scott would return to the Sox (along with Bernie Carbo) in 1977 for Cecil Cooper, a pretty horrible trade for Boston.
