Sean Doolittle
Sean Doolittle
Sean Robert Doolittle (born September 26, 1986 in Rapid City, South Dakota, USA) is a left-handed pitcher from the Major League Leagues playing with the Washington Nationals.
Career
Oakland Athletics
Player at the University of Virginia, Sean Doolittle is a first-round pick from the Oakland Athletics in 20071, a year after winning a gold medal with the United States at the 2006 World University Baseball Championships disputed in Havana2. At the university, Doolittle is both pitcher and positional player, but it is as an outfielder and first baseman that he is selected by Oakland3. In the minor leagues, he plays primarily first base, 4 but knee injuries keep him out of play for two and a half years3. Upon his return in 2011, he decides to be pitcher only.
Season 2012
Doolittle made his Major League Baseball debut with the Oakland Athletics on June 5, 2012 as a relief pitcher, battling four Texas Rangers and taking down three catches5. In 44 appearances on the mound in his first season, he has a 3.04 earned run average in 47 innings and one-third with 60 strikeouts, two wins, one loss and one save. He has three appearances in the 2012 AHL Division Series and maintains a 3.38 ERA with 5 strikeouts in two runs and two-thirds against the Detroit Tigers.
Season 2013
Beginning the 2013 season in the Athletics bullpen, Doolittle is employed 70 times and once again records 60 strikeouts, this time in 69 innings pitched. He's averaged 3.13 points per game with 5 wins, 1 loss and 2 saves. Oakland finds Detroit in a new series of divisions of the American League in 2013: despite 6 withdrawals on catches in 4 runs and a third launched against the Tigers, its average is 4.15. He is the loser of the fourth game of the series when he sabotages the lead of his team by giving Víctor Martínez a home run and allows the possible winning point to reach the goals6.
Season 2014
Doolittle participates in the 20147 All-Star Game. He finished the season with his best career-scoring average of 2.73 in 62 innings and two-thirds pitched and 61 games played. He achieved his highest total of strikeouts in one year: 89, a new high of 12.8 strikeouts on average by 9 innings pitched.
Season 2015
In January 2015, a doctor noticed a partial tear in the rotator cuff of Doolittle's left shoulder. Although the injury does not require surgery, the thrower is placed on the list of injured players and only plays in May his first game of the season8. He is back on May 27, where he launches a game against the Detroit Tigers without a point, but his return was rushed and he is again placed on the list of injured9, this time until August 23. He plays 12 games at the end of the year and protects 4 A's victories.
2016 Season
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Season 2017
During a minor league spell to recover from an injury, Doolittle is one of the Nashville Sounds' Nashville Sounds pitcher to participate in a combined no-go game against Storm Chasers of Omaha on June 7, 2017; he launches a relief round at Chris Smith and is followed at the mound by Tucker Healy and Simón Castro11.
Washington Nationals
On July 16, 2017, the Oakland Athletics trade Doolittle and right-handed relief pitcher Ryan Madson at the Washington Nationals in return for left-handed pitcher Blake Treinen and two minor league players, left-handed Jesus Luzardo and third baseman Sheldon Neuse12.