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a lot of pride in recruiting these guys." Howard, in turn, takes pride in making sure he's in the best physical condition possible, which helps negate the chance for injuries — especially those related to his (right) pitching arm. "I do a lot of physical conditioning to keep my body in shape for the long season," he said. "I make sure my body is in the right shape. I can't get the same amount of reps that other guys do, so I have to take advantage of the moment. "Typically, Saturday is the most challenging day because that's when I just finished playing third on Friday. On Saturday, I take BP and then just do pitcher-skill work and go right into the game." Conversely, there are some practice days where Howard is little more than a spectator. "It has a lot to do with his workload as far as his throwing goes," O'Connor said. "We have practice days where Nick won't throw at all. He has a lot on his plate. You have to keep an eye on it and manage it the right way. "Nick is our third hitter and has a low ERA. But I couldn't tell you at what position scouts like him the best. He's a good position player and is good on the mound. Sean Doolittle had the same problem. He was a good hitter and now he's pitching in the big leagues with Oakland." Doolittle left Virginia, where he was a two-time All-American, the school's career RBI leader (167) and posted 22 victories on as a pitcher, which ranks fourth in the UVa record book. Meanwhile, his 243 career strikeouts rank seventh. The A's first-round pick (41st overall) in the 2007 MLB Draft, Doolittle was converted full-time to a pitcher late in the 2011 season and has emerged as one of the A's top relievers. He made his major league debut on June 5, 2012, and hasn't looked back. Doolittle could have played with the Braves, who made him a late-round pick during his senior year in high school. But because he wanted to play the field and pitch, he opted for Virginia. "We knew it was important for him to play both ways," O'Connor said. "Many schools only wanted him as a pitcher. But our recruiting coordinator and hitting coach, Kevin McMullan, couldn't say enough about how much Sean could help us offensively. "To make the contributions Howard, UVa's starting third baseman when he is not on the mound, was hitting .331 with one home run and 29 RBI through April 30. Photo by Matt Riley/Courtesy UVA