A baseball radar gun will always spark intrigue among fans. Whether it be a booth at the boardwalk or in a major league stadium, there is usually some friendly competition to see who can throw a fastball harder . We may imagine that we are throwing in front of thousands of screaming fans or reminisce about our high school glory days, but when the radar reads the mid 50’s we plummet back to reality. 

For 23- year-old Nathan Patterson, one pitch in that booth helped him fulfill a dream he has had since he was a kid.  He was in a pitching booth at a Rockies game when he threw a 96 mile an hour fastball that lit up the radar. His brother posted the video on social media with the hashtag #letsgethimsigned, and the internet did the rest. On August  2, 2019, Patterson’s dream became a reality when he was signed to a minor league contract by the Oakland A’s.

Nathan Patterson wasn’t new to throwing fastballs . He played Baseball in high school, but decided not to play in college. Last August he picked up a baseball again and began to train by joining a rec league and throwing at ballparks.

In an Instagram post of Patterson signing his contract, he quoted his soon to be GM Billy Bean, saying “How can you not be romantic about baseball.” He’s right! It’s hard not to romanticize a story like this.  

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