Nats' Doolittle says he'll skip Monday White House visit

The Washington Nationals will not have to travel far, or wait all that long, to visit the White House, as the World Series champions have a get-together planned with President Donald Trump on Monday. At least one player will not be there, however. Reliever Sean Doolittle told the Washington Post on Friday that he does not plan to attend, making him the first team member to say publicly that he will not be at the event.

Typically, teams wait until the following season when they are in Baltimore or Washington to visit the White House, but the logistics were not all that difficult for a team that plays a mere 3 miles away. A ceremony on the South Lawn is scheduled for 1:15 p.m. EST. The White House visit will come after a parade to honor the champions on Saturday. The Nationals completed the seven-game World Series with a victory Wednesday at Houston. The road team won every game, the first time that has happened in World Series history.

Trump attended Game 5 of the series on Sunday at Nationals Park, with boos filling the ballpark when he was shown on the video board. Trump has also met with the 2017 champion Houston Astros and the 2018 champion Boston Red Sox, although a number of Red Sox players, as well as manager Alex Cora, skipped that visit.