To baseball players, our caps are sacred. We integrate our caps into our strange routines and superstitions, removing and replacing them on our heads with ritual precision so they sit just so. Sean Doolittle Read Quote
When I step onto the mound for the first time in a game, I remove my cap and look under the brim to read a message I write to myself with a Sharpie each season. It’s a private reminder to stop and reflect on how lucky I am to play professional baseball. Sean Doolittle Read Quote
I mean, in A ball, there were five of us in a two-bedroom apartment. In Double-A, I think there were like eight of us in a four-bedroom house. There’s a lot of that going on so that guys can… and the whole time, you’re sleeping on air mattresses and you’re using Rubbermaid bins as furniture. Sean Doolittle Read Quote
You know, I spent parts of six seasons in the minor leagues and I dealt with some injuries there, I saw a lot of things. I had the safety net of being a first-round pick, so I didn’t maybe necessarily experience some of that hardship firsthand, but I watched it break a lot of guys. The strain that it puts on you and your family, it’s really tough. Sean Doolittle Read Quote
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. Sean Doolittle Read Quote
I just like showing people – and this might be at the root of everything that I’ve done – that I don’t want to be looked at as a baseball robot. Sean Doolittle Read Quote
When you’re in the backyard as a kid playing and falling in love with the game and you crush the ball? You do a celebration. You stand and watch it like Ken Griffey Jr. You put your hands in the air like Manny Ramirez. You don’t hit the ball and put your head down and run as fast you can. That’s not fun. It’s okay to embrace that part of a game. Sean Doolittle Read Quote
