Red Sox prospect Noah Song will fulfill orders from the Navy and report to flight school
Song will begin his training no later than June 26 in Pensacola, Fla.
Red Sox prospect and Naval Academy graduate Noah Song has been ordered to report to flight school and put his professional baseball career on pause.
Song, who was drafted by the Red Sox days after he graduated from the Naval Academy and was commissioned as a flight officer last May, will begin his training no later than June 26 in Pensacola, Fla., according to The Capital Gazette.
In a statement, Song explained that he filed a waiver request last fall to transfer into the Navy Reserves, which would allow him to play baseball. But a November update to the policy that would have allowed graduates of military service academies to immediately pursue careers in professional sports could not be retroactively applied to his situation. In April, Song updated his request to continue on to flight training.
“The original waiver, which requested the ability to continue my service by transferring my commission to the Navy Reserves and concurrently pursue a professional baseball career with the Red Sox organization, gave me the best chance to make it to the major leagues,” Song said in the statement issued through the Naval Academy. “However, I understand transferring immediately into the Reserves is unlikely because the law and policy in my case do not permit it.”
A previous policy allows Song to request early release after serving two years of active duty, which would allow the 23-year-old pitcher to move into the Reserves as soon as next May. But if his request is not granted, Song will fulfill what is typically a six-year obligation as a naval aviator.
“Ensign Noah Song is prohibited from being released from his active duty service obligation in order to play professional baseball by law and policy,” Commander Alana Garas, the public affairs officer at the Naval Academy, said in a statement. “In accordance with Title 10, Section 8459, midshipmen may not be released from their commissioned service obligation to obtain employment as a professional athlete following graduation until they complete a period of at least two consecutive years of commissioned service.”
While on temporary assignment duty last summer, Song pitched for the Lowell Spinners, where he posted a 1.06 ERA with 19 strikeouts and five walks through 17 innings. He was also allowed to delay the start of flight school to compete in the Premier12 tournament with Team USA in November. His performance made him the sixth-ranked prospect in the Red Sox system.
“The Navy allowed me to participate in minor league baseball, and to compete for Team USA in the months following my commissioning, and I am grateful for that opportunity,” Song said in the statement. “If I were somehow allowed to transfer into the Reserves, I would have every intention of serving on active duty after my time with baseball ends. I place an incredible amount of personal value in serving my country, and doing so in a meaningful way. I am fortunate to have two ‘Plan As’ in life; I want to serve my country as a naval aviator and play baseball for the Red Sox. I will continue to do all I can to accomplish both, and I sincerely appreciate the support I have received from the Navy and the Red Sox in reaching those goals.”
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