Doolittle honored with Bob Feller Act of Valor Award

The Bob Feller Act of Valor Award Foundation announced today that it has selected Nationals closer Sean Doolittle as a recipient.

The foundation honors six recipients annually, including one Baseball Hall of Famer, one current Major League Baseball player and one U.S. Navy chief petty officer. The foundation presents two Peer-to-Peer Mentoring Awards (one for an afloat command and one for an ashore command) and also recognizes a U.S. Marine with the Jerry Coleman Award.

The nominees are selected because they possess the "values, integrity, and dedication to serving our country that Bob Feller himself displayed".

Doolittle is the son of a retired Air Force navigator and Bronze Star recipient. He said this about winning the award:

"I am incredibly honored to be recognized for this award. My wife (Eireann Dolan) and I are both proud to come from military families and we've worked hard to raise awareness and get involved with veterans issues. We are passionate about making sure our nation's veterans get the care they deserve for serving our country. I am grateful to be recognized and look forward to continuing to work alongside our nation's military and veterans.

The winners will be honored at the foundation's sixth annual awards ceremony, in Washington, D.C., at the U.S. Navy Memorial on Monday, Dec. 3.

This year, the other honorees are:

* Baseball Hall of Famer - Johnny Bench, Cincinnati Reds
* U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer - Aviation Ordnanceman Chief Shawn M. Wingle
* Peer-to-Peer Mentoring (afloat) - U.S. Naval Mobile Construction Battalion Five in Port Hueneme, Calif.
* Peer-to-Peer Mentoring (Ashore) - Training Support Center, Great Lakes
* Jerry Coleman Award - Gunnery Sergeant Johnathan S. Rose, USMC

Doolittle went 3-3 with a 1.60 ERA with 25 saves in 43 games for the Nats. He has totaled 46 saves in 73 games so far in D.C. over 1 1/2 seasons.

Feller played 18 seasons for the Indians, pitching from 1936 to 1941 and from 1945 to 1956, interrupted by a four-year term in the U.S. Navy. In 570 games, Feller pitched 3,827 innings and went 266-162, with 279 complete games, 44 shutouts and a 3.25 ERA.