Fan turns pitching fantasy into pro reality

After being discovered in speed challenge cage, ex-landscaper inks contract with A's

OAKLAND, California - Nathan Patterson never even made his high school baseball team as a middle infielder back home in Kansas.

Other than being a fan, 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.