Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/804369
57 BAY AREA NEWS GROUP PLAY BALL tobuildabrand,inasense.That sounds like a cheesy way of saying it, but in doing that it's opened up som e o ppor tunit ies to do cool stuff away from the field. You obviously do have to be careful with what you put on there and be sure that it's thought out and it's not something people could take out of context and take the wrong way. Not only are you representing yourself and your family but also the A's organization. So that's the biggest thing. It breaks down some of those walls that typically existed between the players and the fans. Anyonepostyou'veregretted? Nothing really comes to mind. I've actually gone back through it and looked a couple of times, just to make sure. I went back and looked at mine, and there was some stuff that was bad, they were like bad jokes, super corny, stupid stuff, but nothing that was offensive. I check and double-check and make sure it's OK before I post it, because I'm really cautious about that stuff. I don't want it coming back on me or, like I said, on the A's. Are you all Twitter all the time? I don't even have Facebook any - more. I spend a fair amount of time on Twitter, though. I try to keep track of what's going on, both in the baseball world and with everything that's going on with our country now and everything like that. There's definitely not a lack of content right now, that's for sure. You grew up in a military family. How does that manifest itself now? It's something I'm incredibly proud of. I try to stay involved with veterans' issues. I work with some veterans charities. That's the most consistent off-the-field stuff that Eireann and I do. Some of the oth - er one-off stuff gets some publicity, political stuff that's a little bit more topical and more of a hot-button issue. But the veterans stuff we do around the year, a constant. We work with a group called Swords to Plowshares in the Bay Area. We work with an organization called Operation Finally Home. Were her passions in that regard the same as yours, or is it a melding over time? No. Veterans' issues were very much on both of our radars. In her full-time job, her boss (J.R. Marti- nez) advocates for veterans rights and is a veteran himself, has done motivational speeches, and has published a book. So it was some - thing she already knew a lot about. It was an issue that both of us felt strongly about, were passionate about, and knew a lot about, so it seems like a really good fit. Have you become more political over time or less? I feel like I've always believed what I believed. I've just become more vocal about it. It's always been something I've followed very closely and tried to learn a lot about, certain current events, political issues. We're just at a point now where there are so many different things going on, so many new things, stuff that I've always felt strongly about. Some - times when those issues are being threatened or people are at risk of being marginalized, I have found a way to speak about it a little bit more. Maybe I just feel comfort - able because over the years I've learned a lot about a handful of different things, and maybe I feel more com for tabl e s peak in g a bo ut these things because I feel more educated about it. We also try to raise awareness on certain issues, but we try to roll up our sleeves whenever we can. Obviously there's the veterans' stuff, but then also with LGBT Pride Night a couple of years ago at the Coliseum. We started a fundraising campaign that we contributed to, and the support from the community was amaz - ing. There was a fallen police officer in Hayward who was a big-time A's fan. We started a letter-writing campaign to his family. We compiled them all, put them in a book and gave it to his family. There was the Syrian refugee dinner we did. We funded it, then we donated some stuff to the families so that they had something to make it through their first winter in Chicago. We don't just speak out on stuff. We try to walk the walk and not just talk the talk where we can. How would life be different if you were still a hitter instead of converting to pitching? Oh, man. I don't know. Hopefully not very different, because I like how everything has shaken out both on and off the field. I don't know if my body would have held up. I've had some injuries even since I switched to pitching. I get asked about hitting a bit, and that's really the only time I think about it. Because I feel like in a lot of ways I ended up doing what I was supposed to be doing all along. It turned out to be a bless - ing in disguise to make the switch. JHICKEY@BAYAREANEWSGROUP.COM THE A'S At left: Sean Doolittle faces the White Sox on Opening Day at the Coliseum in 2016. Above: Doolittle gets political on Twitter.