Two-time All-Star reliever announces retirement

Veteran left-hander Sean Doolittle announced on Instagram Friday morning that he’s retiring after 17 years in professional baseball. He spent the season with the Nationals organization, hoping for a comeback bid in the Majors after undergoing UCL surgery last summer, but the recovery from that procedure and a subsequent knee injury limited him to just 10 2/3 minor league innings this season. He’s been on the minor league injured list since late June.

“After 11 incredible seasons playing the sport I love, I can say with gratitude and a full heart that I am retiring from baseball,” Doolittle wrote in announcing his decision.

“Seventeen years ago the Oakland Athletics drafted me as a first baseman out of the University of Virginia. However, as some of you may know, my career nearly ended before it began. After a spate of early injuries, I was nearly ready to hang it up. But then the team approached me and asked if I’d be willing to give pitching a try. With the direction and unwavering support of A’s farm director Keith Liepmann and pitching coach Garvin Alston, I found my second chance. I am forever grateful to them for helping me turn a second chance into a career.”

Doolittle went on to issue heartfelt thank yous to his family, fans of the A’s and Nationals, his managers, his teammates, his coaches, and to the Reds and Mariners for his time spent with each organization (and, as the always-humorous southpaw notes, for “increasing [his] chance for getting on the Immaculate Grid”).

Doolittle’s second chance indeed became a career — and a very fine one at that. The No. 41 overall pick in the 2007 draft debuted with the 2012 A’s and hit the ground running, pitching 47 1/3 innings of 3.04 ERA ball with a huge 31.4% strikeout rate and excellent 5.8% walk rate. Doolittle almost immediately cemented himself as one of the top lefty relievers in the game, and by his third MLB season in 2014, he’d seized the closer’s role in Oakland and been named to his first of two All-Star teams.

For five and a half seasons, Doolittle anchored the Oakland bullpen, posting a 3.09 ERA in 253 innings with 68 holds and 36 saves. He and righty Ryan Madson were traded to the Nationals in a July 2017 swap that sent a struggling (at the time) Blake Treinen, then-prospect Jesus Luzardo, and minor league infielder Sheldon Neuse back to Oakland. It was a steep price for the Nats to pay, but it’s doubtful Washington has any regrets.

Doolittle stepped back into a ninth-inning role in D.C. and thrived, saving 21 games and pitching to a 2.40 ERA down the stretch with his new club before tossing three brilliant frames in the postseason. From 2017-19, the left-hander logged a 2.87 ERA and saved 75 games for the Nationals. The 2019 campaign saw Doolittle finish an NL-best 55 games and pick up a career-high 29 saves.

Despite a rocky month of August, he played a significant role in the Nationals’ now-legendary 2019 turnaround, particularly once the postseason rolled around. Doolittle was one of manager Davey Martinez’s most trusted arms during the Nationals’ playoff run, tossing 10 1/3 innings with a 1.74 ERA and 8-to-1 K/BB ratio. While it was teammate Daniel Hudson who threw the iconic final pitch of the Nationals’ World Series win, Doolilttle saved two games and collected three holds over the course of the 2019 postseason. That includes three shutout frames in the World Series itself, highlighted by Doolittle nailing down a four-out save when he set down Michael Brantley, Alex Bregman, Yuli Gurriel and Carlos Correa in order in a Game 1 victory.

Injuries have marred the final few seasons of Doolittle’s career, but he’ll nevertheless retire as a two-time All-Star and a World Series champion. He totaled 450 2/3 innings of 3.20 ERA ball in parts of 11 big league seasons, adding in another 22 1/3 innings with a 2.42 mark in the postseason. Doolittle also logged 112 saves (115 including postseason play) and 82 holds (plus five more in the playoffs). Between his trips to free agency and an early $10.5MM extension that included a pair of club options for another total $12.5MM, Doolittle earned $26MM over the course of his career.

Beloved for his clutch performances, candid and often eccentric personality, and thoughtful approach to pitching, Doolittle would likely have myriad opportunities to continue his career in baseball as a coach, scout or executive if he aspires to do so. Congratulations on an outstanding career and best wishes to the southpaw in his post-playing days, whichever path he chooses to take.