Newtown Dad Reflects on MLB Son

Newtown resident and lifelong baseball fan Rory Doolittle does not just have have one son playing professional baseball -- he has two.

Doolittle is the father of 25-year-old Oakland Athletics up-and-comer Sean Doolittle. He is also the father of Ryan Doolittle, 24, who plays ball for the minor league Athletics farm team, the Stockton Ports.

Rory Doolittle proudly talks of the athletic accomplishments of his two sons, both pitchers, and his daughter who played lacrosse in college.

Sean Doolittle grabbed headlines in sports sections across the nation last week after he moved from the minor league to the Oakland A’s after the team’s star pitcher Jordan Norberto was hurt.

Sean Doolittle’s recent rise to the majors is a story of adapting to change and overcoming challenges. It is a story his father is proud to tell.

In 2011, after several seasons as a “power-hitting first baseman,” as the Associated Press called him, Sean Doolittle, who was living thousands of miles away from Newtown, almost gave up on his promising baseball career after suffering complications from two knee surgeries and a painful wrist problem.

Healing time was expected to be four to six weeks, but due to complications, the time needed to recover quickly grew, Rory Doolittle said.

“[Sean] was very frustrated; he began to doubt whether his body would heal again,” the major leaguer's father said.

The 25-year-old, who attended University of Virginia but began playing baseball professionally before graduating, split his time back on the East Coast between a rigorous rehab regimen, his mother’s house in Taberbnacle, N.J. and Rory Doolittle’s home in Newtown.

“It was tough for him to watch his buddies, guys he had come up with, move up to majors,” Rory Doolittle recalled.

As Sean Doolittle began to slowly recover, he switched from playing out in the field to pitching, a position he had excelled at during his high school and college baseball career, his father said.

The standout minor leaguer quickly advanced from a Single-A team at the start of the season to the big leagues in just a matter of a few games.

It all happened so fast, Rory Doolittle said. His son's car and most of his clothes still sit in his former apartment in Midland, Texas. Midland is where Sean Doolittle started playing baseball in the beginning of the season.

In just months, the left-handed relief pitcher has recovered and is living the life his father, a 26-year Air Force veteran, said he could have only dreamed of.

Rory Doolittle called his son’s major league call up to the A’s a “full-circle moment.”

While stationed at Castle Air Force Base in California, Rory Doolittle and Sean would often make the trek to Oakland to watch the A’s play ball.

“Sean’s first memories of baseball were watching Oakland play,” Rory said.

After being reassigned to New Jersey, Rory Doolittle moved the family to Taberbnacle where Sean Doolittle and Ryan Doolittle both played recreational baseball as their father helped coach.

While playing in Tabernacle, Rory Doolittle noticed the lefty seemed to have “something special.” It wasn’t until high school and scouts began showing interest that Sean’s sports ability became crystal clear to Doolittle family.

The father said he supports both his sons' choices to do what they enjoy.

“It’s just really cool,” he said

“Every parent has dreams and hopes for their kids," he said. "At some point you just have to say, ‘why not?’”