On deck: Harris to MLB or ship

BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Mitch Harris has the talent to get selected in the Major League Baseball’s First-Year Player Draft, but whether the right-handed pitcher receives the chance to pursue a career on the diamond remains uncertain.

Harris is torn between what he has to do, and what he wants to do. He wants to play baseball, but as a recent graduate of the Naval Academy, he is required to fulfill a five-year military commitment.

“I want nothing more than to pursue my dream of playing professional baseball,” he said. “At the same time, I want to live up to the commitment I made when I came to Annapolis. I’m hoping there’s a way to do both.”

Harris, who throws between 92 and 94 mph, is the latest service academy graduate to have his athletic career put in limbo. The issue has become more controversial this spring, as Army has allowed players like football safety Caleb Campbell to pursue an NFL career as part of its Alternative Service Option policy. The policy allows those with “special talents” to pursue professional opportunities and are assigned to recruiting centers near their workplace instead of the battlefield.

But the Secretary of the Navy, Donald C. Winter, suspended the policy while the country is at war. Harris said he is unsure of where he stands as he prepares for life as a surface warfare officer aboard the USS Ponce in Norfolk, Va.

Harris, a native of Mount Holly, N.C., is not new to the draft process, as the Atlanta Braves selected him in the 24th round in 2007 after going 8-5 with a 2.14 ERA and 119 strikeouts as a junior.

But this year, he suffered a separated shoulder earlier this season and went just 2-2 with a 3.50 ERA and 37 strikeouts.

“There are prospects and there are prospects,” Navy coach Paul Kostacopoulos said. “If given the opportunity, he has the makeup to be a successful player for whoever drafts him.”

Dean Albany, a mid-atlantic scout for the Orioles who coached Harris in 2006 on his under-20 summer team, agrees.

“He’s as seasoned a player as they come,” Albany said. “He’s a great competitor with a strong makeup who will be successful in whatever he does in life.”

Harris didn’t seriously consider attending the Academy until after Buddy Green, the Midshipmen’s football defensive coordinator, saw him play while visiting his high school on a recruiting trip.

“I know I would not have to worry about the draft if I was at any other school,” Harris said. “But I also know that I wouldn’t have gotten the great education I had if I had gone to another school.”

rsnyder@baltimoreexaminer.com

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