A baseball fan threw a pitch that clocked in at 96 miles per hour during a stadium speed challenge. Two weeks later, he was signed to a team as a Major League Baseball player.
Nathan Patterson, 23, attended a Colorado Rockies game with his brother on July 15, and his pitch went viral on Twitter.
His brother Christian tweeted, "Let's get him signed!"
Tweet may have been deleted
Nathan posted Instagram photos of himself signing a contract with the Oakland Athletics on Thursday night.
"For those who tell you that you can’t achieve your dreams, use that as fuel to work even harder," he wrote in the caption. "Because those people are the ones that settle."
View this post on Instagram
It was more than just good luck for the newest member of the Oakland A's, though — this move was a year in the making. CNN reports that Nathan originally threw a 96 mph ball at a Nashville Sounds pitching booth. He told MLB.com that the pitch surprised him, because he hadn't seriously played baseball "for a few years before that."
He competed up until his senior year of high school, but "didn't really have a good arm then."
After throwing the impressive pitch in Nashville, Nathan began training. His plans were later derailed when he was in a car accident that left his non-throwing arm in a cast. He continued to train while recovering from surgery on the arm, and he gained attention on Twitter for pitching impressively fast balls while still in a cast.
Tweet may have been deleted
Nathan began talking with the Oakland A's in February, according to MLB.com, and got the call "a few days" after throwing the viral pitch at the Rockies game.
"This story is not over. It is not the beginning," he tweeted the night he signed the contract. "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"
TopicsTwitter
(责任编辑：焦點)
Michael Phelps says goodbye to the pool with Olympic gold
You won't see the moon look this way again until 2034
YouTubers in shock over President
7 'Rogue One' clues revealed by the prequel novelPole vaulter claims his penis is not to blameDespite IOC ban, Rio crowds get their political messages across
The Olympics aren't meant to be a place for political expression -- the International Olympic Commit
...[详细]YouTubers in shock over President
LOS ANGELES -- Before Tuesday, the YouTuber community spent months rallying their fans to vote. Afte
...[详细]Brad Pitt reportedly cleared of child abuse allegations, seeks joint custody
LOS ANGELES -- The investigation into child abuse allegations against Brad Pitt has concluded and no
...[详细]There's a vagina in 'Watch Dogs 2' and Ubisoft is removing it
Watch Dogs 2 has a problem beyond its broken multiplayer features, and it's completely NSFW.Watch Do
...[详细]Florida hurricane forecast remains uncertain, but trends in state's favor
For days, a war has been raging between two of the premiere computer models used to help predict the
...[详细]Please stop arguing about the politics of safety pins
The KKK-endorsed president-elect of the United States just appointed a white nationalist to his cabi
...[详细]Obama says he won't pardon Edward Snowden, despite pressure
Edward Snowden will almost certainly have to watch from Russia as President-elect Donald Trump is in
...[详细]Jeremy the snail finally found a snail to have sex with
Not being able to find a local woman he's compatible with usually isn't enough to hold a man back fr
...[详细]Old lady swatting at a cat ends up in Photoshop battle
We all have that relative who gets annoyed with the cat. 。This timeless photo of an old woman shooing
...[详细]Even faster charging tech will juice phones from 0 to 50% in 15 minutes
Fact: Nobody likes waiting for their phone to charge up.Which is why phones with Qualcomm's Quick Ch
...[详细]Balloon fanatic Tim Kaine is also, of course, very good at harmonica
American Airlines replaces Gogo in
