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
In a story straight out of a movie, the Oakland A’s have signed 23-year-old Nathan Patterson to a minor-league deal, after he hit 96 mph during a fan challenge at Coors Field in Denver last month. Patterson first landed on the A’s radar when he impressed during a fan event at the Athletics’ triple-A affiliate in Nashville last year.
After being signed, Patterson posted a thank you message to the A’s on Instagram.
“How can you not be romantic about baseball” -Billy Beane
Words cannot describe this feeling and I cannot thank everyone enough who has been part of this journey so far! pic.twitter.com/E4eSMUDmU5
— Nathan Patterson (@npatterson_12) August 1, 2019
Though he’s never gotten a professional chance, Patterson has been working on his stuff for years. According to USA Today, Patterson played high school baseball but never pursued it in college. He started throwing again seriously last August.
It’s an incredible story, one that will become even more so if Patterson can make some waves at the minor-league level.
