As Matt Clement's body grew, his athletic career blossomed.

"I was 5-foot-7 in ninth grade and was 6-3 by my junior year in high school," Clement recalled. "Luckily for me, the (basketball) coaches never moved me from point guard."

The 1993 Butler graduate developed into one of the top point guards in the WPIAL and quickly became a pro prospect as a pitcher in baseball.

Clement received numerous Division I college offers in both sports.

Now, the former major league pitcher is being inducted into the Butler County Sports Hall of Fame during the 45th annual banquet at 6:30 p.m. April 24 at the Butler Days Inn.

"I'm excited about it," Clement said. "So many familiar names and faces have been congratulating me and I've got plenty of people to thank for my sports career."

Clement rarely played during his sophomore year, when the Golden Tornado won the WPIAL boys basketball championship. He became a starter during his junior season.

In his senior year, Clement scored 440 points that season, averaged 16 points per game, but Butler lost the WPIAL title game to New Castle.

He also picked up All-WPIAL Class AAAA first-team honors and played in the Roundball Classic.

The Tornado varsity team was 73-14 during Clement's years with the program.

"I definitely developed late," Clement said. "I became a 6-3 kid who could handle the ball, jump and drive to the basket.

"I was a third baseman in baseball because of my arm, but I wasn't that good of a hitter and I couldn't run."

But he could pitch.

Ron Zawrotuk, Clement's baseball coach from Little League through high school, was the first to see that.

"He was almost a natural," Zawrotuk said. "He was tall and lanky with long arms and strong legs. And the movement on the ball was there. He didn't have to work on that part of it.

"Matt didn't pitch much in high school because I had two kids in front of him who were pitchers. He was a thrower at the time," Zawrotuk added.

Clement knew some scouts were coming to Butler's nonsection game with Franklin Regional and asked Zawrotuk if he could pitch that day.

"That game had nothing to do with our playoff positioning or anything," Zawrotuk said. "Sometimes people get too caught up with wins and losses. You have to do what's good for the kid."

Clement, who hit 93 mph on the radar gun that day, was drafted in the third round by the San Diego Padres.

Before the amateur draft, Clement received Division I baseball scholarship offers from Miami (Fla.), Texas, Georgia, Vanderbilt and Yale. He received Division I basketball scholarship offers from Pitt, Duquesne, Robert Morris, Bucknell and Lafayette.

"I was close to signing with Lafayette for basketball, but my collegiate choice was going to be James Madison for baseball," Clement said. "That was the first school to really show interest in me.

"When the Padres drafted me early, what I was going to do became an easier decision."

Clement posted an 87-86 record in the majors, compiling a 4.50 earned run average in 238 appearances. He played for the Padres, Florida Marlins, Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox, and pitched in the All-Star Game the Red Sox.

After nearly two years of trying to bounce back from major shoulder surgery, Clement retired from baseball last year.

"My time with the Cubs was the best three years of my career," he said. "Pitching in a pennant race at Wrigley Field in August — there was nothing like it. Those fans were so hungry for a pennant."

Clement won Game 4 of the 2003 National League Championship Series to pull the Cubs within one victory of the pennant. But the Florida Marlins won the next three games to win the series.

"I was slated to pitch Game 1 of the World Series against the Yankees had we gotten there," Clement said. "Still, I remember my son Mattix being 2 years old, sitting with me on the media stand after my playoff win. That's an image I'll never forget.

"I went eight straight years without ever missing a start. That's going to take a toll on your body. Not many major league pitchers have done that."

Clement's wife, Heather, was his high school sweetheart.

"She's been my biggest fan my whole life," he said. "She was always in the stands every game I pitched, even after we had kids. I wouldn't have wanted to do all that with anybody else."

Clement also pointed to coaches Mark Jula and Zawrotuk, along with his father, Paul Clement, as key figures in his success.

"Ron Zawrotuk was the first guy who thought I could be a pitcher," Clement said. "From the time I was 3 years old, Dad would come home from work and play sports with me.

"Throw a football or baseball, shoot a basketball — my youth revolved around sports."

Tickets to the banquet are $20 each with tables of eight available. Tickets are available at Bill's Beer Barn, Moses Jewelry Store at the Clearview Mall, Parker's Appliance in Chicora, Snack 'N' Pack in Butler or Saxonburg Drug.

<I>This is the second in a series of seven articles profiling the 2010 inductees into the Butler County Sports Hall of Fame.</I>