Sean Doolittle Reveals He Used Lavender Oil on Glove to Stay Calm While Pitching in Playoffs

Reliever Sean Doolittle was a stalwart for the Washington Nationals during the team's improbable run to the World Series in 2019. In truth, that came as a shock to baseball fans as the veteran left-hander struggled mightily with consistency throughout the regular season.

Well, it turns out that Doolittle, who is recognized as quite the enigma around the league, had an unusual stress-reliever with him on the mound to keep calm while pitching in October.

What was the miracle worker, you ask? None other than lavender oil, which, according to the 33-year-old, has a lot of "calming and soothing to it."

While the lavender oil component of this story is certainly bizarre, only Doolittle would resort to such measures to maintain his composure in the postseason. The two-time All-star noted that he would take a whiff of the oil in between pitches and that it would work wonders at reducing his nerves and keeping him collected while toeing the rubber.

"When you’re a reliever and pitching in high-leverage situations in must-win games, and you’re on-call every night for like a month, it starts to take its toll on you," Doolittle told the Associated Press. "And it’s a challenge to stay even-keeled and to really manage that energy... My regular season did not go the way I wanted it to go, but I was very proud of the way I was able to get myself together and be really effective in the playoffs."

"Effective" would be understating Doolittle's production for Washington in the postseason. He registered a 1.74 ERA while holding opponents to a .167 batting average. Doolittle recorded the save in two games and earned a hold in three others, while the Nationals went 8-1 in the nine games he featured in en route to capturing their first-ever World Series crown.

Fans in D.C. apparently have lavender oil to thank for that. Who would've thought?