Posted on 06/12/2008 9:32:41 PM PDT by Dawnsblood
A Naval Academy graduate drafted last week by the St. Louis Cardinals was denied a bid to play ball Thursday and ordered to report for duty.
Mitch Harris, a newly commissioned ensign and Naval Academy graduate, must serve a five-year active duty commitment, Navy Secretary Donald C. Winter ruled.
“He will report to his ship as ordered,” Cmdr. Jeff Davis, a Navy spokesman, told The Associated Press.
Harris, a native of Ocala, Fla., who played high school ball in North Carolina, was selected in the 13th round with the 395th pick overall. The 22-year-old right-hander went 20-13 with a 2.51 ERA in four years at Navy, averaging 11.78 strikeouts per nine innings. He was the second-highest pick in program history.
Harris is scheduled to report Monday to the amphibious transport ship Ponce, which is homeported in Norfolk. He told The Gaston Gazette in Gastonia, N.C., on Thursday night that he hadn’t heard from Navy officials but was not surprised by the outcome.
“Of course we’re at war, no one can argue we’re not,” Harris said. “But what I’ve said from the beginning is that I’m not trying to get out of anything.
“If I don’t get that chance (to play baseball) right now, I’ll never get it again. And to fulfill a goal of getting to the pros, it’s sad that they would take it away from me.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nbcsports.msnbc.com ...
Oh, I remember it well.
I wasn’t Navy, but I know just a little about those Master Chiefs. I met some of those who had retired. The ensign needs men like that.
I remember from my enlisted days those Second Lieutenants who thought they had already made Major. They would hide from some of the older Chief Master Sergeants and and Senior Chiefs.
Same thing. I had a friend years ago who was a Master
chief Boiler Technician (BTCM). I once asked him what he does with a new Division Officer. His statement: “I would point to a chair in the corner of the office and say ‘Ensign, SIT!!!!. Maybe in a few months I’ll let you speak.’”
I was lucky, as an electronics tech I had Limited Duty Officers (LDO’s) and Warrant Officers (CWO’s), which are prior enlisted, as my DivO’s.
Might not even make it to Memphis, 395th pick.....
As a 13th round pick he is far from a lock for the majors anyway. Heck, a lot of first round picks don’t pan out.
Playing pro ball may be a dream, but what this kid most likely missed out on was several years making very little money, playing in the bus leagues.
The ensign needs to remember all the guys that voluntarily left baseball during WWII to enter the military to fight for their country. And the didn’t even have a free education.
I read the funniest essay/blog/story about a guy that "volunteered" for a stretch in Greenland. Oh my God.
Being that I HATE cold weather, I couldn't imagine what that must have been like.
Just want to know where the Navy sends the <10% on proficiency guys.
He incurred the obligation. Simply tell him to shut up and report on pain of prosecution and brig time. While I was an active Marine I was offered a direct appointment to the Naval Academy. I was engaged to be married and knowing that I could not do both I turned it down rather than making a committment I could not keep. Instead I married, went back to school on my own and was commissioned in the AF. I retired from the AF and am still married after 35 years. Make your committments and take on your obligations wisely and not out of convenience.
I’ll defer to your knowledge of what took place re the Korean War, since I don’t know. But didn’t Williams also serve in WWII as a Marine pilot?
That was me. After four years of tax-paid education the nitwit is blubbering to the media about his lost opportunity to throw freaking baseball as a pro.
As far as I'm concerned there's entirely too much emphasis on high-skool, college and pro-sports in the United States.
His comments show just how far removed from reality he is.
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