If Nathan Patterson ever makes his MLB debut, his road to the majors could rank among the most improbable in recent baseball history.
That’s because the 23-year-old, who hadn’t played competitive baseball since his high school days, just signed a contract with the Oakland Athletics after he hit 96 m.p.h. in a stadium speed-pitch challenge when attending a Colorado Rockies game in mid-July.
Patterson realized he could throw in the mid-90s last August when he was clocked on a radar gun when he attended a Nashville Sounders triple-A game as a fan. He said he didn’t realize he could throw that fast and the impressive velocity inspired him to resume training.
He eventually started talking with the A’s in February not too long after he posted this video on Twitter of him practising with his non-throwing arm in a cast — a video that prompted former MLB All-Star C.J. Wilson to comment on.
But it wasn’t until two weeks after his brother posted the video of him throwing gas that he inked his deal.
Two weeks ago, Nathan Patterson hit 96mph at a Coors Field speed pitching challenge. Yesterday, he signed a contract with @athletics organization Christian Patterson/Twitter Nathan Patterson/Twitter
4,765 Likes, 61 Comments – Sportsnet (@sportsnet) on Instagram: “Two weeks ago, Nathan Patterson hit 96mph at a Coors Field speed pitching challenge. Yesterday, he…”
“Words cannot describe this feeling and I cannot thank everyone enough who has been part of this journey so far!” Patterson wrote when he posted photos of him putting pen to paper.
Who knows what will become of Patterson, but it appears for the time being he’s prepared to put in the work and see how far he can take this.
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