Nathan Patterson’s story is like something out of a movie. Two weeks ago the 23-year-old was at Coors Field to watch a Rockies game and turned heads by throwing 96 miles-per-hour at a speed pitch challenge.
This guy got signed by the Oakland Athletics after throwing 96 mph at a speed pitch challenge
You can’t make this up.
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
Now he’s under contract from the Oakland Athletics.
Patterson got the call this week that the Athletics, after seeing footage of his pitches on social media wanted to sign him to a contract. It’s unclear where Patterson will start playing, or when — but it’s still one of the most stunning stories this year.
It turns out there’s been interest from the A’s for the last six months. Patterson began showing off his speed pitching prowess at a Triple-A Nashville Sounds game last August, which caught the attention of the A’s (the Sounds are a minor league affiliate for Oakland). In February the team reached out to discuss the possibility of signing Patterson, and jumped on the chance when the newest video of him throwing 96 went viral.
Patterson explains that this is the culmination of a nine month journey. A former high school player, Patterson never made the jump to college and at that point he thought his baseball career was over. Then, last August, he decided to make one last push to see if his dream could come true. He began taking baseball seriously, then traveled to games around the country — obliterating speed pitch challenges and turning heads.
“This story is not over. It is not the beginning. 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!”
Signing Nathan Patterson shows the changing nature of sports.
It wasn’t that long ago that the idea of a highlight reel posted on the internet was a laughable way to get attention from sports teams, but things are changing. More organizations are willing to find talent from outside traditional pipelines, and especially in baseball the risk is very minor.
Patterson can be trained in the minors under professional conditions, with the hope that the A’s system can turn an untrained 96 mph throw into something monstrous. All I know is we’ll be watching this closely, because if this experiment works there’s no telling what it will mean for other future players who post their exploits on social media.
Update: Now Patterson has signed with Drew Rosenhaus.
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