Fan Who Used Blistering Fastball to Land Oakland A’s Contract, Makes Pro Debut

The baseball fan who earned an Oakland A’s contract with a blistering fast 96-mph pitch made his professional baseball debut at Coors Field last Thursday.

Nathan Patterson, 23, who was signed to the Athletics Gold, took the mound for his first time as a professional ball player and skunked three batters in a row, according to Fox News.

Patterson said his first time on the mound in a pro setting was “incredible and truly a blessing.”

“I’m not gonna lie, the nerves were flowing until I threw strike one,” Patterson said on Instagram on Friday. “After that, I took a big deep breath and realized all the hard work over the last year has prepared me for this moment.”

View this post on Instagram

Last night was incredible and truly a blessing as I made my first professional outing. I’m not gonna lie, the nerves were flowing until I threw strike one. After that, I took a big deep breathe and realized all the hard work over the last year has prepared me for this moment. It could not have gone any better and I cannot thank my family, friends, teammates, and coaches enough for the love and support. I still have a long ways to go and I love that aspect of this journey. It takes discipline, focus, and consistency day in and day out to be able to compete in professional baseball. I wake up everyday excited to get better and push myself beyond my own expectations. It’s amazing what can happen when you set a goal, take it one day at a time, knock down any barriers, and look back after a few months or years to see what you have accomplished. As @garyvee says “macro patience, micro speed!” #LFG

A post shared by Nathan Patterson (@njpatterson12) on Aug 16, 2019 at 12:28pm PDT

Patterson became a viral sensation after participating in a speed pitch challenge held on July 15 in Denver. A video of his pitches showed that all his throws clocked in at over 90 miles per hour, and his best was a 96 MPH throw.

Patterson had already had some contact with Oakland before the video, but once the video went viral, the A’s quickly re-established contact with the would-be player and immediately signed him to a minor league contract.

The young man played in high school, but only recently had begun playing again in a local men’s league in Colorado.

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.