WASHINGTON — The Triple-A Memphis Redbirds were on the road at a hotel on Monday when manager Mark Shildt called the room of Mitch Harris, one of his pitchers.
Shildt asked Harris to meet him in the hotel lobby, where Harris was told he was being called up to the major leagues for the first time. Harris joined the St. Louis Cardinals before their game on Tuesday in Washington against the Nationals.
“I thought when I called my dad it sunk in,” Harris said. “He thought I was just messing with him.”
Harris was drafted out of Navy in 2008 in the 13th round by the Cardinals. But he did not play pro ball until 2013 due to military obligations.
“I’m human. There were times when I doubted” he would make the majors, he said.
He did not pitch Tuesday but after the game, outside of the St. Louis clubhouse, he spoke with some friends. One wore a Navy football jersey with the No. 22.
“It definitely means a lot to be at the capital,” said Harris, a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy — about 33 miles east of Nationals Park.
The Cardinals put OF Peter Bourjos on paternity leave and purchased the contract of Harris from Memphis. The Cardinals also announced that Memphis OF Gary Brown has been designated for assignment in order to make room for Harris on the 40-man roster.
Harris, 29, a Florida native, could become the first Navy graduate to play in the majors since Nemo Gaines with the Washington Senators in 1921.
“I could not write it better myself,” Harris said.
He began his pro career with State College in the New York-Penn League in 2013.
“I kept my body in the best shape I could,” said Harris, who threw on the flight deck on one of his assignments. His catcher was a service man who grew up playing baseball in the Dominican Republic. Harris said he didn’t trust to throw to anyone else, due to the risk.
Harris pitched in eight games in spring training for the Cardinals and was 0-0, 2.45 with two saves in four games for Memphis. He planned to leave about 20 tickets for Tuesday’s game, and his parents planned to attend.
“I think it’s a fantastic story,” said Washington manager Matt Williams. “He worked hard. (But) we want to beat him.”