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Journal: Doolittle's bat a pleasant surprise 05/08/2008 10:33 AM ETBy Sean Doolittle / MLB.com
Sean Doolittle was Oakland's second draft pick in 2007 (No. 41 overall) after a stellar career as a two-way standout at the University of Virginia. The slick fielding first baseman split his rookie campaign between Vancouver in the Northwest League and Kane County in the Midwest League. He hit a combined .243 with four homers and 33 RBIs in 68 games. Good day ladies and gentleman, and welcome. It's great to have you on board for another journal entry on MiLB.com. I'll be your host, Sean Doolittle. Since the previous segment we've really found our groove as a team and have picked up where we left off, running on all cylinders and posting an impressive record of 12-3, despite seven of those 15 games coming on the road. For those of you keeping score at home that's a winning percentage of exactly .800!
On a personal note, the past few weeks have been a blast. I've never considered myself one to get off to a good start, even in college. So yes, I'll admit that even I've been pleasantly surprised by some of my offensive production. Numbers aside, it's been nothing short of fun to bat in the middle of the lineup when you're hitting after the likes of speedy outfielder, Mr. Consistent Archie Gilbert and slick fielding, smooth swinging, shortstop Josh Horton and before designated home run hitter Chris Carter and catcher Jed Morris (your reigning California League Offensive Player of the Week after bashing four home runs and posting an obnoxious amount of RBIs over the past six games). And on the other side of things, enough can not be said about our pitching staff. Left-hander Jimmy Heuser and right-hander Graham Godfrey joined the starting rotation this week, after one starter was promoted and another was injured, and our staff did not miss a beat. Trevor Cahill took a no-hitter into the 6th inning in his last outing on May 2 -- striking out six in the process -- which followed Brett Anderson's 10 strikeouts over seven scoreless innings the previous day. Those are just a couple of the impressive performances that have earned our pitchers several rounds of batting practice since we last talked. With our team racking up the wins and playing together it's been especially enjoyable showing up to the yard day in and day out. Whether it's because of characters like reliever Jason Glushon promoting "The Lake Show" (featuring Kobe Bryant and the rest of the Los Angeles Lakers on their quest for their 15th NBA title) or lefty Derrick Gordon breakin' it down in the clubhouse to the likes of Lil Boosie or Justin Timberlake, it's been a fun ride as we continue to sit atop the California League North Division standings. After coming out on top in 12 of our last 15, we have one game remaining at beautiful Banner Island Stadium in Stockton before embarking on a seven-game road swing to Bakersfield and Lake Elsinore. We took care of business at home and look forward to earning some hard fought W's on the road. I've also looked forward to answering some of your questions I've recently received... Hi Sean ... Congratulations on your great start this year! I was wondering why you haven't mentioned it in your journal. Are you superstitious? Do you see a lot of superstitious behavior around the ballpark by your teammates? - Rob K. It's funny you bring that up, Rob. I am in fact, ridiculously superstitious. Nothing -- from pre-game meals, music on my iPod and routine to the shirt I wear under my uniform -- is taken for granted and will continue to remain the same as long as I continue to hit! If I fail to get a hit then it is not uncommon for my sweatband to find its way to the trash or my batting gloves to be thrown in the bottom of the locker or my bats to be rotated to another one because clearly it wasn't all my fault! All jokes aside, I think baseball players, myself definitely included, are very superstitious. Everyone seems to have something small that they go to in search of confidence to head into the game believing they will get a couple knocks and help the team win. When you were drafted, many naysayers predicted that you would never hit for enough power to really fit the profile as a big league first basemen. Well, you've already hit six homers this season and are slugging a monstrous .667! Have you been actively trying to hit for more power to prove those guys wrong, or are you just following your regular approach but getting better power numbers? -- Taj I alluded to this earlier in this journal entry and I remain somewhat pleasantly surprised by my offensive production this season, especially in the power categories. I believe it is a byproduct of a couple things. Primarily, for the first time in my career I've been able to channel all my energy and all my focus into hitting without having to split practice time with pitching as I did in college. With that in mind I was able to make some changes during Instructional League that I carried with me through the offseason. Secondly, I hit the weight room back at the University of Virginia pretty hard this offseason and I am now the proud new owner of 15 pounds of muscle. With those things in my back pocket I've been able to keep the same approach at the plate and let the numbers take care of themselves. Thanks again, sports fans, for taking the time to join me in reading another one of my journal entries here on MiLB.com. I enjoyed reading your emails so feel free to keep 'em coming. Drive home safely, and as always...you stay classy Minor League Baseball. This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.
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