It's certainly never too late to realize your dreams.

That adage was true for 23-year-old Nathan Patterson, who recently signed a deal with the Oakland Athletics. Patterson earned the contract after he participated in -- and crushed -- a speed pitch challenge at a Colorado Rockies game.

As you can see in the video, Patterson hit 96 on the radar gun twice and hit 95 as well.

Just two weeks after this video of Patterson throwing hear surfaced on social media, the right-handed pitcher has signed a contract with the A's. In a post on his Instagram account, Patterson admitted that he was thankful to get to this point, but his story "is not over."

As impressive as this showing was, it wasn't the first time that Patterson has tried his luck on the radar gun at a baseball game.

Last August, Patterson was at a Nashville Sounds (Triple-A) game and threw 96 in a speed test booth just like he did in Colorado. Patterson had played baseball in high school, but hadn't thrown in a few years.

Patterson began training shortly after his August showing, but was hit by a car and suffered a wrist injury. Following the recovery of that injury, he joined a recreational league and and kept pitching.

This is certainly one of the more wild ways that an athlete has earned a professional contract. It also proves that anything is possible if you keep plugging away and working on perfecting your craft.