Dispatcher Practicing for First-Pitch Toss

It’s been a long road for Alameda County (N. Calif.) Fire dispatcher Cristian Valle, ending tomorrow on the pitcher’s mound of the Oakland A’s home field to throw out the first pitch. As a former U.S. Army sergeant, Valle was selected to represent military veterans at the A’s annual VA Welcome Home Celebration before the game with the Chicago White Sox. Valle served two tours in Iraq starting in 2003. But while on patrol in 2005, four terrorists in a passing vehicle tossed a device that exploded, seriously injuring him. He lost both legs in the attack, but recovered and learned to walk with prosthetics. After leaving the Army, he returned to California, and in January 2007 joined the Alameda County Fire Department as a dispatcher. Tomorrow, Valle will walk to the mound before Saturday’s 11 a.m. game, wind up and pitch a strike.