A's sign fan who went viral with 96-mph fastball in pitching cage

Nathan Patterson has proven that dreams can come true.

In a story that seems to be written for a movie, the Oakland Athletics signed the 23-year-old Patterson to a contract Thursday, some two weeks after he went viral by throwing 96 mph in a pitching cage at Coors Field.

Patterson was attending a Colorado Rockies home game on July 15 when he stepped into a pitching machine on the Coors Field concourse. He proceeded to dazzle onlookers by hitting 96 mph on the radar gun.

Somehow, Patterson getting signed out of a pitching cage isn't even the most inspiring part of his story. His journey to professional baseball, which began last summer, was briefly interrupted when he was hit by a car and suffered an injury to his non-throwing wrist.

Patterson posted a video in January of his indoor workouts, during which he consistently hit high speeds despite wearing a cast on his left wrist.

Patterson told Cut 4's Adrian Garro that he last pitched competitively in high school but had joined a men's league in February. He added that the A's reached out to him "a few days" after his video went viral.