CaliforniaRaisin wrote:https://twitter.com/alexspeier/status/1147619147188187136?s=21
Wonder if the Red Sox were somehow able to actual defer his service time. You had to think they had something up their sleeve since they picked Song in the top 10 rounds. Great value.
https://www.capitalgazette.com/sports/n ... story.htmlWhen the presidential policy directive is implemented, Song will not have to attend flight school and will be allowed to pursue professional baseball full-time. Song was informed of President Trump’s memo on Wednesday night by representatives of the Navy athletic department.
“Obviously, I’m very excited about this development and the possibility I’ll be able to chase my dream of making the major leagues,” Song said. “I’m very fortunate the timing worked out just right as far as my situation.”
Song had been in the process of applying to the Navy for permission to pursue summer-time employment outside of his military responsibilities. If that request is granted, the hard-throwing right-hand pitcher will use his leave time to play for one of Boston’s minor league affiliates.
The Red Sox talked about assigning him to the Lowell Spinners, the organization’s short season Class A affiliate in the New York-Penn League, he said.
“I’m still kind of in limbo right now waiting to see what develops. I’m not sure how long it’s going to take for this new policy to become more official,” said Song, who led Division I with 161 strikeouts and 11 wins while ranking sixth with a 1.44 earned run average as a senior this past spring.
If Song is allowed to defer his military commitment and commit full-time to professional baseball, it certainly improves his value to the Red Sox.
It sounds like he'll able to enter the minors right away and defer his military service commitments, which is great news for Song and the Red Sox. I really liked him and wanted the Cubs to draft him, but his situation is unique and kinda complicated. None of this would've happened if Trump didn't undo the policy under Obama allowing recruits the chance to defer service to become professional athletes back in 2017:
In 2017, Trump’s own Defense Department rescinded that policy of allowing service academy graduates to go straight to the pros upon graduation instead of having to first serve on active duty. Then-Defense Secretary Jim Mattis re-implemented a long-standing policy that required they serve two years of active duty before applying for reserve status to pursue a career in professional sports.
horsefeathering Trump and his politics affects damn near everything these days...
"It was met with, basically, he didn't want to talk about that. He didn't want me to tell him that. I just basically said, 'Well that's why we want an electronic strike zone.'" -- Ben Zobrist