St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Mitch Harris made his major league debut on Saturday, though he doesn’t throw as hard now as he did when he finished college, roughly seven years ago.
The unusual rookie has a good excuse: He spent five of those years in the Navy, sailing dangerous missions under the American flag, from drug stings in South America to touchy diplomatic trips to Russia.
Harris, 29, became just the second Naval Academy grad in MLB history this weekend, the first since Nemo Gaines appeared in four games in 1921. Pitching out of the bullpen on Saturday and Sunday, Harris threw 2 1/3 shutout innings, allowing a combined two hits and two walks with two strikeouts.
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It was the culmination of a circuitous journey — literally sailing around the world — since he was drafted in the 13th round in 2008, then went off to serve his five-year military commitment.
Aboard the USS Ponce, the weapons officer and his crew transported Marines to battle in the Middle East. A frigate named the USS Carr took part in drug operations in South America and a diplomatic assignment in Russia.
“Once I got there, I realized what it all meant to have that brotherhood and to be able to serve your country,” Harris told MLB.com last fall. “That moved to the forefront, but in the back of my mind, I still had the dream of playing pro ball.
“I think it makes me who I am. No one in this [Cardinals] complex, or probably any complex, can say they did what I did. I wouldn’t take that back for anything.”
Still, it was difficult to stay in pitching shape while deployed.
“There were times when we’d get out and throw the football. If we got a chance to throw a baseball, we would, but it wasn’t very often. But again, my thing was that I wanted to make sure that those guys knew when I was there that my first priority was to be the best officer I could be.”
The rust was so severe that when Harris finally reported to Cardinals spring camp in February 2013, his first pitch in front of a Cardinals coach registered an estimated 80 mph on the radar gun. When he left Annapolis, he was throwing 92-94 mph.
“I was terrified,” Harris told MLB.com. “I was thinking, ‘I wonder if everyone else is thinking what I’m thinking, which is, ‘This guy doesn’t belong here. Why is he here?'”
He moved up the minor league ladder — he credits former Mets bullpen coach Randy Niemann with an extra-helpful session at Double-A last year — with a work ethic he honed in the service. His parents, Cy and Cindy, are his biggest fans.
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Harris now serves a lieutenant in the Reserves. He brings an uncommon perspective to the clubhouse. His manager in the Arizona Fall League asked Harris to address the roster of prospects, some of them as many as 10 years his junior, as far away from home as they even had been.
“It’s good to let those guys understand that there’s more out there than baseball,” Harris told MLB.com “I just reminded them that we get to do this for free. There are other men and women out there that are up at 2 or 3 in the morning protecting us. I wanted to remind them that we’re privileged to do this.”