Red Sox minor leaguer Noah Song has waiver to postpone military service denied
When a new policy for athletes from military academies was signed last month, Noah Song hoped he could delay his two years of service in the Navy.
But the order, which President Donald Trump advocated for and was signed by Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Nov. 8, takes effect beginning in 2020 and allows athletes to delay their commissioning as officers to pursue professional sports opportunities.
Since the rule does not apply to Song — a right-handed pitcher the Boston Red Sox selected in the fourth round of this year's MLB draft who graduated from the Naval Academy in May — the Navy denied his request to retroactively apply the waiver to him.
“Unfortunately, my request was negatively endorsed by the Naval Academy due to the fact this new policy did not apply to me,” Song told the Capital Gazette on Monday. “The Naval Academy did not provide a positive recommendation ... so that’s the end of that route.”
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Currently, Song is stationed at the Naval Academy and is scheduled to begin flight school in January, he told the Capital Gazette.
On Wednesday, Navy spokesperson Lt. Cmdr. Derrick Ingle said Song's request is still being reviewed by the branch.
"No final decision has been made," he told the Boston Globe.
Normally, the Department of Defense allows commissioned officers to play sports after two years of active duty. Song, who signed with the Red Sox for $100,000, told the Capital Gazette he will apply for another waiver after two years of flight school.
MLBPipeline currently ranks Song as the No. 15 prospect in the Red Sox system. In seven starts last season for the Class A Lowell Spinners, he yielded two earned runs on 10 hits over 17 innings with 19 strikeouts.
During the fall, Song represented the U.S. during the Olympic qualifiers in Japan. His fastball consistently clocked at 99 mph and he largely impressed by surrendering zero runs and one hit over 5 1/3 innings in five appearances out of the bullpen.