Nats’ pitching strategist eager to show what he can Doo

This story was excerpted from Jessica Camerato’s Nationals Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

World Series champion and two-time All-Star Sean Doolittle will be back with the Nationals this season in the new role of pitching strategist. Doolittle chatted this week with MLB Network’s MLB Tonight crew, and he shared his excitement and goals with Matt Yallof, Yonder Alonso and Mike Lowell.

“I think over the course of my career, I’ve experienced so much positive and negative in this game, good times, bad times,” Doolittle, 37, said. “I can relate to players in a lot of different ways, I think. I’m excited to learn from them, too. This game is constantly evolving, and if we’re going to stay on the cutting edge, if we’re going to continue to help these guys, then I have to continue to learn and grow as the game continues to develop, too.”

Doolittle is joining a revamped Nats coaching staff that includes 2019 World Series champion teammate Gerardo Parra as the first-base coach.

On approach to preparation and mechanics

Doolittle: “I think it’s important to know yourself, to understand your strengths, to understand what makes you good and where you’re most effective in and around the zone. For me, with the high fastball, I knew there were certain positions I had to get into, there were certain checkpoints I had to hit in my mechanics to make sure that I was going to maximize the effectiveness of the four-seam up in the zone with the ride.

“For the guys that we have, it’s going to be about explaining to them and helping them understand what their strengths are, what makes them good and then why those things make them so effective — is it certain movements that they have in their mechanics that add maybe a little bit of deception that helps them throw really hard? That way, we’re helping them over the course of a long season, they understand what their key points are, what they need to do on a daily basis to make sure that they’re maintaining — whether it’s a mechanical thing or a feel thing with a certain pitch — just to stay on top of that to give themselves the best chance to be consistent over the course of the season.”

On working with fellow lefty MacKenzie Gore

Doolittle: “I’m stoked to work with MacKenzie and watch him take another step forward in his career and his development. … He’s got one of those fastballs that does have the good induced vertical break. But because of the way he throws and his arm slot, it plays up when it’s up in the zone. He’s got that nice, flat-approach angle on it. The breaking ball combo that he’s working with is pretty special. He can spin the ball, he has the curveball and the slider. I think for him, getting a full year under his belt last year is going to be the biggest thing for him moving forward. He has that experience now, he knows how to manage his body over the course of the full season. Now it’s about fine-tuning some things and maybe being a little bit more consistent. But he’s an exciting young talent for sure.”

Doolittle: “I think it’s an awesome opportunity to go against those guys a little bit more regularly than the other teams in the league. When you’re playing the Phillies and the Braves and the Mets and the Marlins more times than the other teams, having an opportunity to face those guys and go to those stadiums on the road multiple times throughout the season is going to speed up the learning curve for a lot of these guys, I think. When you play against some of the best in the league, that’s when you learn a lot about yourself and it gives you a chance to elevate your game.

“You get a little bit more of that adrenaline spike when you’re on the road at Citizens Bank Park facing Bryce Harper and it’s like, ‘OK, it’s go time. What do we have now? How am I going to manage my energy? How am I going to execute my game plan with this added adrenaline running through my veins?’

“One of the most fun parts about competing is when you’re going up against the best, and it really forces you to elevate your game. So I think it’s good for us. That’s easy for me to say now that I’m on the coaching side and they’re the ones out on the field actually having to compete. (smiles) But I really do think it’s a good thing for us.”

On desire to coach in uniform and possibly one day manage

Doolittle: “I honestly don’t know. I don’t know. I haven’t thought that far ahead, to be honest. The way this job came about — even when I retired [in September], I hadn’t even thought of this. [General manager] Mike Rizzo came to me shortly after I informed them of my decision to hang [my cleats] up, and I couldn’t be more excited about this opportunity. I’m not really looking that far ahead yet.

“I think this is a really important time for the Nats’ organization. We took a big step forward last year with the youngest team in baseball. We have some exciting talent coming up through the Minor Leagues. So I don’t know what it’s going to look like moving forward for me, but I’m really excited to be in this role and I hope there’s a way that I can continue to help the team move forward and get another trophy in that trophy case at Nats Park.”