A’s sign social media phenom to contract with organization

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Nathan Patterson never even made the varsity baseball team as a middle infielder during high school back home in Kansas.

In fact, he’d strayed far from the game — running his own landscaping business and working various other jobs that included sales and software — before baseball came back into his life when he least expected it.

If that was the whole story, Patterson’s journey to the Oakland Athletics’ rookie ball team would have been remarkable, yet the way the pitcher got discovered made it even crazier yet: He became an instant social media sensation.