You know those test-your-pitch speed games at some Major League Baseball stadiums? For one fan it led to an MLB contract!
A couple of weeks ago, Nathan Patterson was at a Rockies game at Coors Field testing his speed.
That's when his brother Christian posted a video that now has more than 200k views on Twitter.
Nathan wows the crowd with pitches at 90, 94, 94, and 96 mph.
Guys, we were just chillin at a @rockies baseball game, and my brother decided to step into a speed pitch challenge...he hit 96 mph 😳 @MLB Let’s get him signed! pic.twitter.com/g0fKrvUxzt
— Christian Patterson (@cpatterson_7) July 15, 2019
Turns out the fans weren't the only ones impressed. Less than a month later Patterson found himself signing a contract with the Oakland A's!
“How can you not be romantic about baseball” -Billy Beane
— Nathan Patterson (@npatterson_12) August 1, 2019
Words cannot describe this feeling and I cannot thank everyone enough who has been part of this journey so far! pic.twitter.com/E4eSMUDmU5
"This story is not over. It is not the beginning," Patterson wrote in an Instagram post. "I am writing the next chapters and excited for this journey! Time to focus even more, work even harder, and it all starts with your mindset. Go after your dreams and make them a reality!"
Patterson is 23 years old and says he played baseball up until his senior year of high school, but he says he didn't have a good arm then.
According to mlb.com, Patterson's journey actually began last August at a Nashville Sounds game (AAA affiliate of the A's at the time). He hit 96 on the radar gun, which surprised him since he hadn't thrown for a few years before that.
He began training a few months later, but was hit by a car and had surgery on his non-throwing wrist in December.
He reportedly began talking with the A's in February and joined a men's league to stay fresh.
Then the video at the Rockies game emerged, and a few days later he says the A's gave him a call.
You can read the full story originally posted on mlb.com here.
