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\u201cI think it\u2019s important. You know we talk a lot about how important it is for kids to stay active and get outside and get involved in organized sports and activities. But I think reading is another way for them to activate their brain, especially over the summer months when they\u2019re away from school. I think it\u2019s important for them to continue that development,\u201d said Doolittle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lt. Cmdr. Talitha Moton and her husband, Dion Moton, a retired Navy veteran, were at the event with their three children. The Motons are participating in the military reading program through Fort Belvoir, Virginia, and have set a family goal of reading 300 children\u2019s books by the end of summer. Not an easy feat as their youngest is only 16 months old; however, they say that reading aloud to their brood counts toward their goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The book reading was held as part of the Nats on Base initiative \u2014 referring to military bases \u2014 a program aimed at providing year-round experiences for service members and their families living in the greater Washington area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The children in attendance were given a free baseball book, and the military families also were given free tickets to the game against the Atlanta Braves that followed the reading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Doolittle is active in supporting the troops and veterans both with the Nats and off the field. He and his wife, Eireann Dolan, volunteer with multiple military and veterans\u2019 groups throughout the year. In December 2018, Doolittle was awarded the Bob Feller Act of Valor Award in recognition of his work with military veterans and their families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs somebody that grew up in a military family, I kind of have that bond with them that makes it a little bit more meaningful,” said Doolittle. \u201cI grew up going to visit my dad on base, and I never got to meet a major league player. To kind of give the children that experience, I really enjoyed it. It was a lot of fun.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Nats also organized a team visit to Walter Reed hospital in Bethesda, Maryland, in earlier in the season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat was really, really powerful,” Doolittle said. \u201cThe Nats have done a lot to get involved in the military community.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Nationals\u2019 calendar<\/a> is filled with military specific events throughout the summer and the entire year. The Nats on Base program offers service members discounted tickets through govx.com<\/a> and free tickets through the Pentagon Federal Credit Union. Other events also offer free tickets and can be found on the team\u2019s website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Doolittle read the children\u2019s book \u201cWhere the Wild Things Are\u201d to small children gathered on the carpet around his chair.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":92586,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":7,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,7,26],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3178],"class_list":["post-54273","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-education-transition","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"4QRTO5R5LZHDXDZANHWHYSM34E","arc_canonical_url":"\/2019\/06\/24\/baseballs-washington-nationals-sean-doolittle-hosts-military-children\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/DSC_0130.JPG.jpg\")
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