Fan pitches 96 mph at baseball game radar booth, video shows. He got an MLB contract.
Now this is a good brother.
On July 15, Christian Patterson shared video on Twitter showing his brother, Nathan, jumping into the speed pitch challenge during a Colorado Rockies game — and throwing ball after ball that hit 90, 94 and up to 96 miles per hour.
“Let’s get him signed!” the brother wrote on Twitter after their outing to Denver’s Coors Field, tagging Major League Baseball’s account on the social network.
That video has been retweeted hundreds of times and liked thousands more.
And now, that major league dream has come true: Nathan Patterson, 23, signed a contract with the Oakland Athletics, according to a post on the signing Thursday from MLB.
His brother’s boosting alone didn’t make it happen: Patterson had been in talks with the California-based team in February and was practicing to keep up his skills, according to MLB. That included throwing pitches at the Rockies game, and “a few days later the A’s gave me a call,” he told MLB.
Patterson had started training again last fall, after throwing another 96-mph pitch in front of a radar gun at game played by the Nashville Sounds, which were then the A’s Triple-A affiliate, according to MLB.
“Words cannot describe this feeling and I cannot thank everyone enough who has been part of this journey so far!” Patterson wrote in an Instagram post, sharing pictures from the signing. “My family has given me nothing but constant love and support throughout the last 9 months as I pursue a dream of mine that I’ve had since I was a little kid. It’s been a roller coaster to get here with many challenges and overcoming adversity.”
He also said he hopes it provides a lesson for others.
“Time to focus even more, work even harder, and it all starts with your mindset,” Patterson wrote. “Go after your dreams and make them a reality!
This story was originally published August 2, 2019 at 11:03 AM with the headline "Fan pitches 96 mph at baseball game radar booth, video shows. He got an MLB contract.."
