WASHINGTON — The Washington Nationals are at home for a series against the St. Louis Cardinals this week, and for one player it represents something much more than a few baseball games.
Not long ago, Cardinals pitcher Mitch Harris, 29, was serving his country in the Navy. He was drafted by the Cardinals out of the Naval Academy in 2008, but spent the next five years in the Navy before going right back to baseball and working his way up through the minors.
On Monday, a Cardinal went on paternity leave, and Harris got the call from his Triple-A manager.
“He just said, ‘Hey, what was your end goal?’” Harris said Monday. “I said, ‘It was to make it to the big leagues.’ And he said, ‘Well, congratulations; you did it.'”
Harris did not play in Tuesday’s game. But when he does make his debut, he’ll become the first graduate of the Naval Academy in 94 years to appear in a major league game, according to MLB.com.
In the Navy, Harris sailed aboard the USS Ponce in the Persian Gulf, conducted drug stings in South America and served on diplomatic assignment in Russia, MLB.com says.
“The dream has begun to come true,” Harris says. “Just making it is part of it, but staying is, I think, the better half.”
