Injured A’s reliever makes a young fan’s day
When a baseball-loving boy stopped Oakland reliever Sean Doolittle by chance Monday to check out the A’s bandanna worn by the pitcher’s dog, the little guy got an impromptu opportunity to play shadow baseball with a big leaguer.
Kid plays imaginary baseball, has no idea the pitcher is actually A's reliever Sean Doolittle (via @EireannDolan) pic.twitter.com/4XNVezpd3s
— NBCSN (@NBCSN) July 26, 2016
Doolittle and girlfriend Eireann Dolan were walking their Rhodesian Ridgeback dog, Stella, on Monday afternoon in San Francisco when 5-year-old Jordan stopped them to inquire about the dog’s accessory and share how much he loves baseball. Dolan says that’s when she told Jordan that Doolittle is an A’s player – he is away from the team recovering from shoulder surgery – “he didn’t believe me,” she said in a text message to The Associated Press on Tuesday night.
So, she showed him a photo of Doolittle in uniform. The boy proceeded to use her phone to snap a selfie with the red-headed, bearded closer.
Dolan posted the photo and video of their meeting on Instagram, and it was an instant hit. It was also picked up on Twitter.
This story was originally published July 26, 2016 at 8:37 PM with the headline "Injured A’s reliever makes a young fan’s day."