BIOGRAPHY
Sean Doolittle was born September 26, 1986, in Rapid City, South Dakota. He is a pitcher in the MLB.
The Athletics selected Doolittle in the first round in the 2007 MLB draft, as a first baseman and outfielder. He made his MLB debut in 2012 as a pitcher. He was an All-Star in 2014 and 2018.
In 2018, he was 3–3 with 25 saves (7th in the NL) and a 1.60 ERA, as in 43 relief appearances he pitched 45 innings and struck out 60 batters (12.0 per 9 innings). Doolittle was also named to the 2018 National League All-Star team. He threw a four-seam fastball 88.8% of the time, tops in MLB.
In 2019, he was 6–5 with 29 saves (6th in the NL) and a 4.05 ERA, as in 63 relief appearances he pitched 60 innings and struck out 66 batters. He led the NL in games finished (55), powering his Nationals to a World Series appearance and a save in Game 1. In 10 1⁄3 innings during the postseason, he gave up only two runs and six hits while striking out eight.
Doolittle is active off the field with a number of charities and he was recognized for his work in 2016 by being nominated for the Roberto Clemente Award. Doolittle supports Operation Finally Home, a nonprofit dedicated to providing housing for U.S. military veterans and their families, and Swords to Ploughshares, a Bay Area organization devoted to helping veterans with housing and employment. In recognition of his work with U.S. military veterans, he was the Major League Baseball Player recipient of the Bob Feller Act of Valor Award in 2019. In June 2015, when the Oakland Athletics Pride Night received backlash from some fans for the team's support of LGBT rights, Doolittle and then-girlfriend Eireann Dolan bought hundreds of game tickets, which they donated to local LGBT groups, and raised an additional $40,000 in donations. Doolittle is an ally and LGBT rights activist.
In November 2015, Doolittle and Dolan hosted a Thanksgiving dinner in Chicago for 17 Syrian refugee families. In October 2016, he was one of several professional athletes to denounce Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's comments about non-consensual groping of women as not being "locker room talk." Doolittle identifies as independent politically. In 2019, the Washington Post reported that, because of several actions by the president, he was not going to attend a ceremony at the White House following his team winning the World Series.
Of his charity work, Doolittle told The New York Times: "When I was a kid, I remember my parents would say, 'Baseball is what you do, but that's not who you are' — like that might be my job, but that's not the end-all, be-all. I feel like I might even be able to use it to help other people or open some doors or explore more opportunities."
On March 16, 2022, Doolittle signed a one-year contract with the Washington Nationals. He was placed on the injured list on April 20, and underwent UCL internal brace surgery in July, which ended his season. He was re-signed to a minor league contract after the season with an invite to spring training.
He is a lover of books who stops at an indie bookstore in each town he visits and perhaps the biggest Star Wars fan you'll ever come across.
