Mitch Harris

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Mitch Harris Naval Academy.jpg

Mitchell Andrew Harris

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Biographical Information[edit]

Pitcher Mitch Harris only turned professional after attending the United States Naval Academy and serving for almost five full years in the US Navy. He had done well as a pitcher with the Academy, being drafted twice, in the 24th round in the 2007 amateur draft by the Atlanta Braves and in the 13th round of the 2008 amateur draft by the St. Louis Cardinals. He would doubtless have gone higher, given his excellent tools, were it not for the fact that before he could begin his career, he needed to get his service requirement behind him. He was not interested in seeking a waiver from his commitment to serve his country, as other athletes had done in the past. That meant he was already 27 when he retired with the rank of Lieutenant and joined the pro ranks in 2013, having served as a weapons officer in the Persian Gulf on the USS Ponce and on drug interdiction missions in the Caribbean Sea on the USS Carr, and at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, Russia, in the meantime.

He had not faced competitive hitters for a long time when he finally joined the Cardinals organization in February of 2013 (signed by scout Koby Perez), and as a result had lost about 12-14 mph on his fastball when he began working out again. But on the other hand, being away from the diamond for such a long stretch meant that his arm had not been overused at an age when a lot of pitchers suffer injuries. Slowly, he began to regain his strength, and got a chance to pitch in an exhibition game with the Cardinals against the New York Mets on March 24th; that was mainly a gesture to thank him for his service to the country and for his perseverance, and not an indication that he was considered anything more than an extreme long shot at that point. Indeed, he allowed four of the five batters he faced to reach base, and two of them connected for home runs.

Still, he began his pro career in earnest a few weeks later with the State College Spikes of the New York-Penn League, and stood out among the fresh-faced youth who usually make up the bulk of the circuit, as he was a whopping 5.7 years older than the average player in the league. However, he surprised the Cardinals' brass by not only holding his own, but completely dominating the opposition, to the tune of a 0.81 ERA in 20 games. He compiled a 4-1 record with 1 save and struck out 29 in 33 1/3 innings, while allowing only 22 hits. He confirmed in 2014 that this performance was not just a fluke, as he moved up all the way to AAA. He started out with the Palm Beach Cardinals of the Florida State League, where he went 0-2, 4.38 in 8 games, then in mid-May was promoted to the Springfield (MO) Cardinals of the AA Texas League. In 33 games there, he was 2-0, 3.92, with a save, allowing only 38 hits in 43 2/3 innings. He credited Springfield pitching coach Randy Niemann for sorting out his mechanics and putting him on the fast track to the Show. At the beginning of September, he received another promotion, this time to the Memphis Redbirds of the Pacific Coast League, where he pitched a scoreless inning.

The Cardinals invited Mitch to attend spring training with the major league team in 2015 and he continued to pitch well, giving indications that he should be making his big league debut some time that season. While his professional experience was limited, his life experience and maturity were off the charts, and he had served as a mentor and a quasi-coach to his younger teammates at all his professional stops in the previous two years. He was assigned back to Memphis to start the year, but after only 4 appearances, during which he recorded 2 saves and gave up 1 run in 3 2/3 innings, he got the call to St. Louis on April 20th. When he succeeded in reaching the majors, he became only the second Naval Academy graduate to do so, and the first in 94 years since Nemo Gaines pitched briefly for the Washington Senators in 1921. He made his debut on April 25th against the Milwaukee Brewers, pitching an inning and a third in relief of Adam Wainwright, who had to leave the game due to an ankle injury. He allowed two hits and a pair of walks, but no runs as the Cardinals won, 5-3. He was eligible for the win, as Wainwright had left with a lead but had not pitched the mandatory 5 innings required, but the official scorer decided to award it instead to his successor, on the mound, Matt Belisle, who got out of a 6th-inning jam. While it had been almost 100 years since the last Naval Academy graduate had played in the big leagues, it took less than a month for the next graduate to show up, as Oliver Drake made his debut on May 23rd.

Further Reading[edit]

  • Jenifer Langosch: "Navy grad Harris knocking on big league door: Cards righty attempting to become second graduate of Naval Academy to reach Majors", mlb.com, March 23, 2015. [1]
  • Bob Nightengale: "After Naval stint 'much bigger than me,' Mitch Harris takes on major leagues", USA Today Sports' May 20, 2015. [2]

Related Sites[edit]

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