Noah Song

Noah Benjamin Song

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 4", Weight 200 lb.
• School United States Naval Academy
• High School Claremont High School

• Born May 28, 1997 in Pomona, CA USA

BR Register page

Biographical Information

Noah Song has pitched in the minors and for Team USA.

Song was 9-3 with a 2.75 ERA as a college freshman, allowing a .182 average. He led the Patriot League in lowest average allowed and wins (one ahead of teammate Luke Gillingham). He was 16th in NCAA Division I with a 0.96 WHIP. He was 3rd in US Naval Academy history in wins in a season, behind Chuck Davis and Mitch Harris.

As a sophomore, he fell to 6-4, 3.67. He still tied for 3rd in the Patriot League in wins and was 2nd with 89 strikeouts, 8 behind Connor Van Hoose. He was 0-1 with a 2.70 ERA for the Harwich Mariners in the Cape Cod League. In 2018, the junior was 6-5 with a 1.92 ERA, whiffing 121 in 89 innings and allowing only 55 hits. He pitched four shutouts to tie Davis and Gillingham's school record for a season. He had the second-most Ks in a season for Navy, behind Davis's 140 in 1960. He led the Patriot League in whiffs, 12 ahead of Van Hoose, and made the All-League team. He was 16th in NCAA Division I in ERA. He was 0-1 with a 3.38 ERA for the Cape Cod League's Orleans Firebirds.

The right-hander was outstanding in 2019 (11-1, 1.44, 161 K, 55 H in 94 IP). He led the Patriot League in wins (by 3), strikeouts (almost double the runner-ups, who had 83) and ERA (the runner-up was more than double at 3.27) for an easy pitching Triple Crown. He was the obvious choice for Patriot League Pitcher of the Year. He was 5th in Division I in ERA (between Ryan Garcia and John Stankiewicz), tied for 8th in wins, 3rd in strikeouts (after Ethan Small and Reid Detmers) and 1st in K/IP (15.41, .61 ahead of #2 Small). He was Patriot League Pitcher of the Week six times and set a record by taking the award ten times in his career. He was named All-American by several sources. He broke Davis's school records for career strikeouts (428-347) and wins (32-29). The Boston Red Sox took him in the 4th round of the 2019 amateur draft.

He did very well in his pro debut with the Lowell Spinners that summer (1.06 ERA, 19 K in 17 IP). Baseball America said he generated the most buzz in the New York-Penn League. He then made the US team for the 2019 Premier 12 and was dominant out of the bullpen. He debuted in the opener against the Netherlands, relieving fellow Pomona native Cody Ponce in the 6th with a 7-0 lead. He retired Calten Daal on a grounder, walked Roger Bernadina and got Gianfranco Wawoe to ground into a double play. Clayton Andrews took over in the 7th. He was next called on to protect a 10-8 lead in the 8th against the Dominican national team with the losing team going home. He allowed a Charlie Valerio double but then struck out Oscar González, Jeison Guzmán and Edwin Espinal in order before veteran Brandon Dickson closed it out in the 9th. He went 1-2-3 against both Australia and Taiwan, striking out half those batters. In the Bronze Medal Game, with a spot in the 2020 Olympics at stake, he relieved Andrews with a 2-1 lead over Mexico and two outs. He walked Jorge Flores then retired Jon Jones. In the 8th, he got Esteban Quiroz, Efren Navarro and José Vargas in order. Dickson relieved him in the 9th but Mexico rallied to win. Song was clearly a bright spot in the US bullpen with one hit and six whiffs in 5 1/3 shutout innings. The hard-throwing (99 mph) hurler tied for the tournament lead with five games pitched. He did not make the tourney All-Star team as Dickson was chosen as the top reliever.

Song applied for a waiver to delay his military service so he could keep pitching, but the Navy turned him down. He was sent to flight school and said he planned to apply for another waiver two years later to resume his baseball career. He finished flight school in 2022 and then filed the waiver request. Despite not having pitched since 2019, Song was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2022 Rule V Draft. He was finally allowed to return to pro baseball, and joined the Phillies for spring training in 2023, with the conditions normally attached to a Rule V pick.

Further Reading

• Chris Bumbaca: "Red Sox minor leaguer Noah Song has waiver to postpone military service denied", USA Today, December 18, 2019. [1]
• Hannah Keyser: "'If I could physically do both, I would': Phillies pitcher Noah Song on his two paths and passions: The Phillies prospect and Naval Academy grad is finally pursuing his MLB dream at 25 years old.", Yahoo! Sports, February 28, 2023. [2]