 A while later, he played winter ball with the Cardenales de Lara club of the Venezuelan League in its 1976-77 season while being managed by Bobby Cox.In 10 starts, Patterson went 5–3 with a 4.56 ERA in 71.0 innings, totalling 248.0 innings in less of a year, a significant work overload for a young pitcher that eventually took a toll on his throwing arm.On the other hand, Yankees general manager Gabe Paul ordered Patterson to play winter ball in Venezuela, neglecting his workload of nearly 500 innings in a span of two seasons and Patterson, at 21, did as he was told.