Add strike-out pitcher to his resume.
Edward Clas, 51, the hero who ran into a neighbor’s burning Ozone Park home on April 14 and saved three people, got to throw out the first pitch at the New York Mets game on Sunday, April 25.
The Amazins took on the Atlanta Braves and won the game 1-0 (it was called at the end of the fifth inning because of the rain).
“My kids were worried about me throwing the ball in the dirt,” said Clas, who was contacted after The Courier ran his picture and story on the front page last week.
“We got The Courier, saw him on the front page and knew we had the first pitch available,” said a Mets spokesperson.
They got in touch with his boss, who called Clas on Friday, April 23.
“He asked me, ‘What are you doing Sunday?’”
When Clas, a life-long Mets fan, heard about the honor, he was a little incredulous.
Then his oldest son, 20, nephew and daughter Kendall, 15 – who initially smelled the smoke that fateful afternoon – decided to help him practice his pitch.
They went to Tudor Park and marked off 60’ 6” – the distance from the pitcher’s mound to home plate – and Clas, who coached his sons’ little league, threw a few.
“My arm was actually hurting by the time we were done,” he said. “I knew I’d reach the plate, but I was unsure as to my accuracy.”
When the time came for him to take the mound, he was a little nervous, he said – but he still threw a perfect strike to Frank Calatanotto.
“He did great,” said the Mets spokesperson, who also noted a second first pitch was thrown out by the Jets’ first round draft pick, Kyle Wilson, 22.
After he pitched, Clas and his family sat in the dugout, where he was interviewed by NY1 and SNY. He got a Mets jersey with his name and the number 10, got to meet right fielder Jeff Francoeur, and even got a few balls signed.
The family then watched the game from the first row, next to the dugout, and the three Clas kids each got a foul ball.
Still, Clas remains humble through all the attention.
“I never in my wildest dreams thought this would happen,” he said. “I would have been perfectly content just doing what I did.”
