Cardinals Draft Pick Mitch Harris Headed for War, Not the Minor Leagues

If it were 40 years ago and you mentioned getting drafted, military service would be assumed. Now, even though we're at war, being drafted is a happy moment. For Mitch Harris, though, getting drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals has been followed by his assignment to active duty in the Navy.

Harris, a pitcher, went to the Naval Academy and was selected in the 13th round of last week's draft. The Navy denied his bid to go play ball and assigned him to report to active duty on Monday. Harris says he understands but still knows he's missing his only shot at a shot at the big leagues. He wanted to find a way to juggle his service as well as his baseball career.

"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. No one's willing to stick their neck out. It stinks ... it's upsetting."

Harris was given a free education in exchange for five years of active duty. I feel bad that he won't have a chance at pursuing the big leagues but his comments sound a lot like someone who's trying to have their cake and eat it too. War or not, Harris made this deal and the Navy lived up to their side of it, it's his turn to live up to his end.

You might recall a bit of a firestorm when another service academy athlete, Caleb Campbell, was drafted by the Detroit Lions in April. The Army will let him out of his active service, he'll do recruiting and reserve work instead, and were met with many complaints from people who thought he should serve out his commitment. They made the same call about two baseball players drafted last week. The Army has an alternative service option in place and it is implemented on a case-by-case basis.

The Navy used to have a similar program of early release. David Robinson, for example, served two years then became a reserve. They suspended the policy in 2007, however, and even under the old policy Harris wouldn't be free to start playing baseball immediately.

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