Chris Rowley sacrificed two years of his baseball career to put on a military uniform and help ensure the safety of Eastern Europe. Back in North America once again, Rowley, 27, has spent the past few seasons inching closer to his Major League Baseball dream.

Last season, Rowley made history as the first graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point to play in a major league game. As a member of the Toronto Blue Jays, the right-handed pitcher had six appearances, including three starts, and he went 1-2 with a 6.75 ERA over 18.2 innings. Rowley starts this season as a member of the Jays’ Triple-A minor league affiliate, the Buffalo Bisons — providing depth to the club as he awaits his next big-league opportunity.

“It was everything I thought it was going to be and more,” Rowley told LifeZette in an interview about his MLB debut. “I definitely appreciated every moment of it.”

“Obviously any time you can put on a uniform and someone wants you to be a part of their organization, it’s a blessing and I’m looking forward to competing,” he added.

In 2017, he posted a 2.66 ERA in 12 outings (eight starts) for the Bisons.

Rowley, originally from Atlanta, Georgia, has the opportunity to compete in pro baseball this season — but that was not the case in 2014 and 2015. Shortly after he was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2013, he spent 30 months serving in the military, primarily in Bulgaria and Romania as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve. The Georgia native was a first lieutenant in Bravo Company of the 2-7 Infantry, 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division. In other words, he trained America’s NATO allies — primarily Bulgaria — on a daily basis and helped maintain a strong military presence in Eastern Europe to help curb the threat of a Russian invasion.

During his time in the service, Rowley played catch with his medic (whenever he had free time) to keep his arm in good shape — but he was unable to face any live batters or throw from a pitching mound.

Although it was still his dream to play Major League Baseball, Rowley did not mind limitations.

“We understood the mission,” he said. “It’s important for soldiers and their leaders to understand the mission. We knew what we were doing there and felt like it was an important position. I think the guys there got to know the culture, got to appreciate the culture and consequently. We were able to appreciate and understand what we were there for.”

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During his time overseas, Rowley kept in touch with Dane Johnson, a Blue Jays minor league pitching coordinator (now the team’s bullpen coach). When Rowley got a waiver in January 2016 to serve the rest of his Army contract in the individual readiness reserves, the jump back into pro baseball was not all that difficult.

“I don’t want to say it was like riding a bike — because it wasn’t — but I’ve been throwing off mounds my whole life,” Rowley said. “There were some things I needed to clean up, and I was able to do that relatively quickly. There was a little bit of a learning curve coming back.”

In 2016, Rowley’s fight to the big leagues continued — and he thrived. He went 10-3 with a 3.49 ERA in 31 outings (14 starts) for the Dunedin Blue Jays (Toronto’s high-A minor league affiliate). Rowley felt he returned to the U.S. in baseball shape and credited that to the rigorous exercise he got with the U.S. military.

“The Army is a very competitive environment,” he said. “It’s a very competitive place to work. We played all kinds of sports there as part of our PT [physical training]. It was just about facing those hitters.”

While growing up, Rowley had not considered joining the Army. He did so because he found his best opportunity to play Division 1 college baseball at West Point. Mercer University wanted him as a relief pitcher, whereas the Army would give him the opportunity to start games.

Rowley said that ultimately the Army was the right decision for him.

“I think everybody matures in their own individual way … West Point and the Army was my way of maturing as a professional.”

“I think everybody matures in their own individual way,” he said. “Fortunately for me, West Point and the Army was my way of maturing as a professional. My maturation process was really through my service and time in the academy.”

Today, Rowley’s focus is doing whatever he can to make it back up to the big leagues — not that he has any control over when that may happen.

“My goal is to go out there and execute the best I can,” he said.

When Rowley likely does get the call back up to the big leagues this season, he once again has a unique opportunity. Not only does he represent the military that protects the free world while playing America’s pastime — but he will do so for Canada’s lone MLB team, the Toronto Blue Jays.

Related: Why Baseball May Still Be Our National Unifier

To get an idea of this team’s popularity, it averaged 1.01 million television viewers per game during the 2016 regular season — by far the most amount of viewers for an MLB team on its respective home station, according to Forbes.

“It’s so cool,” Rowley said. “It’s a very unique experience. I have a pretty strong sense of patriotism and nationalism in my own country, so seeing the effect the Blue Jays have on Canada and being a part of something that’s nationalist in another country is really cool. I don’t know how many other people have gotten to experience that, so it’s really cool.”

Tom Joyce is a freelance writer from the South Shore of Massachusetts. He covers sports, pop culture, and politics and has contributed to The Federalist, Newsday, ESPN, and other outlets.