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Navy lieutenant Mitch Harris realizes dream of pitching in the majors
Mitch Harris would have preferred to make his big league debut under different circumstances, but given where he's been before it was no surprise to see him navigate through a potentially difficult situation.
When St. Louis Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright went down with an injury during his start Saturday, manager Mike Matheny tabbed Harris to take the mound in Wainwright's place. Harris' insertion into the game carried slightly more significance than any old pitching change.
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Harris became the first graduate of the United States Naval Academy to appear in a major league game since 1921. Nemo Gaines, a relief pitcher for the Washington Senators, had previously been the only Navy grad to reach the major leagues.
The 29-year-old rookie right-hander acquitted himself well in his first outing, striking out the first batter he faced and pitching 1 1/3 scoreless innings as he worked away around two base hits and two walks in a 5-3 win over the Brewers. At last, Harris realized his lifelong dream and he did it with his fiancée and two former shipmates in attendance at Milwaukee's Miller Park.
"When the phone call came in, obviously it hit me that this is finally happening," said Harris, a former lieutenant in the Navy. "But once I hit the field, it's just like every other day. It's the same game, the same things happening. I think once the warm-ups were finished I really felt, 'OK, now I'm ready.'"
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A 13th round pick by the Cardinals in 2008, Harris had to wait until 2013 to join the organization as he served his five year term in the Navy. As he travelled the world fulfilling his military duties, baseball never strayed too far from his mind. To stay sharp he even played catch on the flight deck during downtime with one of the ship's cooks.
Now Harris is playing catch on baseball's biggest stage throwing 95 mph fastballs. We'll give a strong salute to that.
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Israel Fehr is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at israelfehr@yahoo.ca or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr
