Third baseman Josh Donaldson announced his retirement today on The Mayor’s Office (YouTube link). Back in November, he expressed an openness to playing one more year under the right circumstances, but it now seems the Bringer of Rain has decided it’s time to hang up his spikes.
Donaldson, now 38, took a winding path to the major leagues and was a late bloomer, but he nonetheless reached incredible heights as a big leaguer once everything aligned.
While playing third base at Auburn University, he began to learn how to catch. The Cubs then selected him as a catcher with the 48th overall pick in the 2007 draft. In July of 2008, he was traded to the Athletics, one of four players going to Oakland in exchange for Rich Harden and Chad Gaudin.
As he climbed the minor league ladder with his new club, his bat was considered ahead of his glove, an understandable situation given that he was relatively new to catching. He made his major league debut in 2010 but hit just .156/.206/.281 in his first 34 plate appearances.
He was stuck in the minors in 2011 and then spent 2012 being shuttled between the majors and the minors, gradually spending more time at third base over that stretch. His breakout season finally came in 2013, when Donaldson was 27 years old. Now done with catching for good, he got into 158 games for the A’s that year as their everyday third baseman. He hit 24 home runs and drew a walk in 11.4% of his plate appearances, only striking out at a 16.5% rate. His .301/.384/.499 batting line translated to a wRC+ of 147 and he got strong grades for his defense at the hot corner, leading to a tally of 7.3 wins above replacement from FanGraphs and 7.2 from Baseball Reference. He finished fourth in American League MVP voting.
Donaldson followed that up with a similarly excellent season in 2014 and the A’s made the postseason for a third straight year, but made a quick playoff exit all three times. The club decided to undergo a huge roster overhaul that winter, a frequent occurrence for the club and its persistent financial concerns. Going into 2015, the club traded away guys like Brandon Moss, Jeff Samardzija and also flipped Donaldson to the Blue Jays for a four-player package.
His first season in Toronto would eventually prove to be the best of his career. He launched 41 home runs and slashed .297/.371/.568 for a wRC+ of 154. The Jays won the A.L. East that year and Donaldson launched another three home runs in that year’s playoffs as the Jays advanced as far as the ALCS. He was graded as worth 8.7 fWAR and was voted as that year’s A.L. MVP, just ahead of Mike Trout.
He would go onto to have another excellent season for the Jays in 2016, hitting 37 home runs that year as they advanced to the ALCS yet again. He scored the winning run in the ALDS by dashing home from second on a fielder’s choice to secure an extra-inning victory over the Rangers.
But in 2017, injuries started to crop up, which would go on to be a key issue in the rest of his career. He was still excellent that season, slashing .270/.385/.559 while hitting 33 home runs, but was limited to 113 contests due to a calf strain. He and the Jays agreed to a $23MM salary for 2018, his final year of arbitration control. Since the Jays had fallen to fourth place the year prior, there were some trade rumors around Donaldson that winter but he ultimately stayed put.
He spent much of that year on the injured list due to shoulder and calf issues. With the Jays out of contention at the August waiver deadline, he was flipped to Cleveland for Julian Merryweather. Donaldson only played 16 games for Cleveland after that deal as he continued battling his injuries.
He finally reached free agency that winter, but with a limited amount of momentum. Thanks to his late-bloomer trajectory, he was going into his age-33 season and coming off an injury-marred campaign. Alex Anthopoulos, who acquired Donaldson when he was making decisions for the Blue Jays, had become the general manager in Atlanta prior to the 2018 campaign. He gave Donaldson a one-year “prove-it” deal worth $23MM.
Donaldson bounced back tremendously with Atlanta, getting into 155 games, walking in 15.2% of his plate appearances and hitting .259/.379/.521 for a 131 wRC+. He then rejected a qualifying offer from Atlanta and then signed a four-year, $92MM deal with the Twins. Issues with his right calf cropped up again in 2020, as he only played 28 games during that shortened season, but was able to get into 135 contests the year after and launch 26 home runs in the process.
With two years still left on that deal, the Twins flipped him to the Yankees alongside Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Ben Rortvedt, with Gio Urshela and Gary Sánchez going the other way. Donaldson was healthy enough to get into 132 games in 2022 but his production tailed off. He only hit 15 homers and struck out at a 27.1% clip, leading to a line of .222/.308/.374. He spent much of 2023 on the injured list and was released at the end of August, joining the Brewers for the stretch run before returning to free agency this winter.
It wasn’t a storybook ending but Donaldson nonetheless managed to weave together quite a career. Despite not truly breaking out until the age of 27, he still managed to get into 1,384 games and rack up 1,310 hits. That latter figure includes 287 doubles, 12 triples and 279 home runs. He had matching tallies of 816 runs scored and runs batted in, stealing 40 bases in the process. He received an MVP award, three All-Star selections and two Silver Sluggers. His fiery personality which drove him to succeed also rankled some people around the game, as he often quarrelled with umpires, coaches and fellow players, but that combination of his talent and prickly character will likely lead him to being one of the more memorable players of his era. We at MLBTR salute him on his many accomplishments and wish him the best in whatever comes next.
Don’t let the door hit you where mother nature split you.
He only retired because no one wanted his old self.
Exactly. Article could have said “Josh Donaldson announces no team is dumb enough to hire him”.
That pretty much sums it up Arnold. If there was any interest expressed in him, I’m sure he would still be playing, if you could call what his “ performance” now would be playing.
A year too late for sure
I would even go so far as to say two years too late.
Wow, you sure told him. Except for the part where he probably doesn’t spend any time here.
Even stupider, this comment got 29 upvotes.
So long, stinktown!
I don’t understand how the comments can be so negative here sometimes. Wish Mr. Bringer of Rain the best in his post-playing days and congrats on a great career.
And forgot a salute for being a beast in Foolish Baseball’s alternate universe
I agree with you. I do not understand the negative comments.
It’s because people are very touchy and sensitive if his right wing viewpoints don’t coincide with their outlooks.
CABS: The real problem is carrying about or believing in either party, or ANY politician. Government and media are 100% about conning and brainwashing fools and tools.
It’s because some ppl just can’t separate politics from sports.
@Degaz – it’s not politics, in my opinion, he just always seemed like a negative presence – and was a dirty player at times. Nothing wrong with playing with a chip in your shoulder, but that chip never seemed to leave him.
Perfectly said
He ran his mouth thats why the Sox dumped him – negative presense in the clubhouse
Ubaldo why are you still so angry? Have you ever brought any value to a conversation? Rhetorical question.
They aren’t separate. And anyone thinking they are is living in the mirror world of Fox news and Qanon.
I’m not living in either, and they are easy to separate if you are a grown-up.
Grow up.
Provide a real baseball comment and I’ll be your fan. The first time is the hardest but I promise it gets easier.
In what amounted to essentially 8 or 9 full seasons, dude had 48 WAR. really really good to maybe elite player for 7 seasons or so.
Thanks for the great years with the jays. All the best in the future
Some players have a negative public image for multiple reasons of which Donaldson is one of. I can’t really remember what his was whether he deserves it or not.
I certainly don’t disagree with OP’s sentiment. I would love to see a little..LOT more kindness on these boards, especially between posters but I guess people just love being angry on line.
He’s not anywhere close to someone like Roberto Osuna or Matt Bush but he came off as a jerk for a lot his of playing career, people can choose to celebrate him or not. My preference would be to lightly mock him while celebrating his decision to choose “Regulators” as his walk up music on the A’s.
I kind of remember it as him just being generally regarded as a jerk too. I think sports fans are too reactionary sometimes so a lot of time I just stop paying attention when some scandal is reported concerning an athlete.
Fans of the opposing teams didn’t like him…but was (at least in Toronto) well received by his team’s fans. Many Toronto fans appreciate a player who plays hard. Maybe it’s the hockey mentality. There are too many “fancy lads” in the league who give up too easily. There were some on the Jays team last year….not there this year….
Rudy – The general rule is to ignore the first five comments under every article because they are usually just attention seekers with nothing of value to add to the discussion of the article.
What you are seeing here is further proof it’s a justified rule.
I was playing mlbts franchise last night and saw a yankees infielder wearing 20 in like 2030 and thought about him
Donaldson what a tremendous athlete. Master of all trades A’s Billy Beane got Josh from the Cubs. Eric Chavez was leaving on free agency. Josh was a catcher and Billy turned Donaldson a third baseman and what an incredible switch that was, Josh became a monster at third. The rest is history…
Yea I had only been watching baseball maybe 6-7 year when the jays traded for him. Man what a monster he was. He and Bautista were amazing in there playoff runs and EE was great aswell. The good thing about almost all jays trades in my 20-22 years watching is that may trade away big prospects but they always seem to faulter. Donaldson, Chapman, grichuk, Berrios, Price, Jose Reyes and tulo. All these trades the jays won big time. They only have RA dicky, Mitch white and Varsho as deals they lost. While they were big loses in Moreno, Frasso and syndegard they have traded plenty on top 100, some top 50 and 2 top 10 prospects so long run there good.
A little too soon to declare the Varsho trade a loss given he & Moreno have only been with their respective teams for one season.
It was a loss the moment the trade happened. It’s too late to say “it’s too soon”.
Absolutely not. I love how some people think they’re the smartest guy in the room by proclaiming trades a win or loss the second they get announced.
Dickey was worth the shot at the time . I’m convinced that he could still pitch now in MLB if they didn’t treat him like garbage for so many years. Just an absolute amazing player.
Clear skies ahead.
Cool nickname, but guy sounds like a total arse.
There have been lots of great baseball players that were total arses. That doesn’t really matter. All that should matter is watching them on the field. And Donaldson was one of the best on the field for a few years.
@hiflew Ah, I don’t really agree with that dude. Separating the art from the artist is certainly not a requirement and something that is always up for debate.
If someone wants to throw shade at Donaldson because he was reliably and often noted as being a jerk, that’s their right. The same as it was his right to be acerbic despite being paid millions if not hundreds of millions of dollars to play baseball for a living. It can’t just be that he’s the only one that gets the “it’s his right” benefit.
I’m not sure hitting a ball with a stick is classified as art, but people that are jerks but good at their profession certainly aren’t entitled to automatic respect from their peers. I can enjoy Mark Wahlberg movies while laughing at him as a human being.
That’s where we differ. Without his movies, I wouldn’t care that Mark Wahlberg is even alive. Why should him being in movies change that? I enjoy actors and ball players, but once they stop doing their job, they go back to being part of the nameless rabble of strangers in the word that I really don’t care about. And when you think about it, why should we care about them as human beings? It’s not like they are sending us birthday cards or anything.
Just play the game that I enjoy watching, but that is it for me. I don’t want to be your friend. I don’t need you as a role model for my kids. I don’t need a fifth for poker. Just play ball.
@Ubaldo – That is an ironic opinion coming from someone named after a pretty big jerk on the field.
Just because someone looks like a serial killer doesn’t mean he is. Tom Brady and Dexter look like they were seperated at birth. Doesn’t mean Brady is dropping bags in the ocean or is he?
You just aren’t worth the time. Good luck to you.
Another L Ubaldo. You should really try stepping away as you know close to zero about the game.
“Being a good person is part of being an epic player”. What an absolute joke of a comment.
One of the most misunderstood players in a the game. A legend in his own right. Congrats on a great career.
More like a legend in his own mind.
He changed the game, he was an innovator in bat path, exit velo and launch angle.
Shout out to Bobby Tewksbary, too. He helped Donaldson win the 2015 AL MVP and got in the Home Run Derby, too.
How did he do that? By swinging at the ball and sometimes making contact?? Do you think he actually planned to do any of that ???
Read the book “Swing Kings” by Jared Diamond and maybe you’ll see.
Thank you will check it out.
Plenty of guys have War seasons over 7. Derp
Ya…since bWAR considers that in their calculations.
“Legend in his own mind”
… and also MVP voters
Misunderstood how???
When the mics picked up on him calling opposing players a “little b*$%#” he was actually making satirical comments on gender normative stereotypes. Hella adult.
I can totally see that actually. JD has been playing 6-dimensional chess this entire time while we’re sitting here on the teeter-totter.
That doesn’t mean there will always be two genders though. Say Vlad Putin lunges for the Big Red Button. In the aftermath of nuclear fallout or nuclear winter, wide scale anomalies and mutations will alter the genetic code to such an extent that new & perverse multi-gendered entities could assert their privilege…and you think PC culture is a pain now? So let’s not provoke Putin.
Also, demonstrably false. Hermaphrodites.
Do you need a magnifying glass for that? I wouldn’t know.
I reported and muted Braves for the 2 genders comment. Half because of the needless hate/hot button issue talk, and half because it was completely irrelevant to the existing comment thread (and nowhere near as witty).
That dude decided a long time ago he was going to make a two genders joke…he was just looking for the next opportunity regardless of proper context.
need a tissue? U-baldy?
Waymann, just “following the science”-I look forward to being muted by the likes of you, I would consider it a badge of honor.
@silas Easy there buddy, can’t force these types of things…gotta let them happen organically.
Waaaa waaaa waaaa I’m still here and that might be literally one of the 2 or three things I’ve ever said on here that isn’t baseball related unlike you who go and spread their political ideology and opinions on almost every single article posted.
@Phree
Please tell us you’re an 8 year old recently rescued from the wilderness that is just learning about concepts like humor and reading comprehension.
Too bad he didn’t play half of his games at catcher, he would be a HOFer if so! Similar numbers to the C/1B/DH just just somehow went in on the first ballot.
If he played half his games at catcher than he would’ve have nagging injuries his entire career that would have depleted his final stat line. Hence why if a catching prospect has an elite bat they generally get moved off the position.
1)Josh had nagging injuries almost his whole career anyway. Heck, he couldn’t stay healthy as a DH. 2)Josh wasn’t the ideal teammate.
If he played half his games at catcher his numbers wouldn’t be as good.
You have absolutely no idea if that is true. Neither does anyone else.
Absurd. He wouldn’t have played as many games at the least. Yes there’s some microscopic chance somehow life would’ve been different. Most catchers break down earlier too. Pointless hypotheticals. Joe Mauer is HOF worthy imo.
It’s not just a microscopic chance. Some of his injuries occurred while he played third base. If he was a catcher, he might not have gotten those injuries. Yes, catchers do get injuries, but many still play quite a bit. Pudge Rodriguez averaged 124 games per season every year of the 2000s decade when he was age 29-38. Yadier Molina is about the same.
But regardless of all of that. It doesn’t matter what he could have done. The whole point of my comment was that you stated it as if it were a fact and that just is not the case.
One of my favorite players of the last 20 years. Thanks for the memories!
Another solid player whose best season was at age 29 – one of the magic numbers in baseball (along with 28)!
So dude had two good seasons. Wow.
Which is two more than most players have.
Good riddance to one of the biggest turds in the game. Straight trash of a human being is what this clown was.
Obviously you know him personally?
No need for him to as Donaldson has made enough offensive comments for everyone to know what a jerk he is
fffbbb: In your perhaps-whackjob / perhaps-not opinion.
Clearly
Deep breaths man. It’s just an Internet article.
Stop projecting your inadequacies onto the rest of the world, Brian.
The bringer of rain’s cloud has run dry
RIP U.L.”Toothpick” Washington
Hallelujah
Good riddance to that jerk
Not shocking. I remember when he discussed continuing to play at the beginning of the off season and it seemed a bit delusional. He’s clearly been gassed apart from pure raw natural talent deluding him and casual fans into thinking he might go back to being valuable because he is genuinely fantastic defensively, has a great looking swing and hacks his way to 10+ home runs over the course of a season, while otherwise being a nearly automatic out at the plate.
He made his money. He can walk away knowing he left nothing on the table and is rich.
Overrated
Overrated by who? You think ~50WAR players grow on trees? LOL
Well – he had 46 WAR, and folks talk like he is a shoe in for HOF. Which in regards to that, he is overrated. He did well, and put together some really good seasons, but in some aspects, he was rather overrated
If we separate the person from the player. He could have been a HOFer. Late bloomer and basically losing two years of his prime will keep him out. Still I think making 100M+, winning an MVP, and being a top 250 positional player all time is nothing to sneeze at.
He had some very solid/MVP years and was no hanging on like Chris Davis to any team. For a .170 hitter he drew good walk ratio.
Only if A’s kept their start worthy players they would have had a long history of winning and championships in the 2000s
Had a really good career and spent part of it as one of the very best players in all of baseball.
2 or 3 healthy productive seasons is a good career??
9 out of 13 seasons with superb OPS+ (130-150 range) his lowest in that stretch being 119. Regularly posted excellent defensive metrics too. One of the best third-basemen of his generation.
I dont know about you but any player that played who earned an MVP and decided to call it a career – I call that a good career he was the best of all as not all players can say that let alone being nominated another –> 5 times.
Won an MVP award, one of the top third basemen of his generation. 46.8 career WAR. Yes, of course it was a “good career”. It was obviously better than just a “good career.” It’s easily in the top 5% of outcomes for MLB players. You don’t have to like the guy, but come on.
@dan-9 and Datashark
Totally agree. If he had spent the majority or all of his career in Oakland they would be retiring his number.
Excellent career. As with most athletes, the end is never pretty but the overall work top notch.
A few good seasons does not make a career.
you live up to your name
I am sure you can do better than that, that’s low-hanging fruit.
He said that liberally. Steve also lives up to his name, a sad pathetic, bleeding heart snowflake, wanna-be woke POS.
What does “wanna-be woke POS” mean? I have never heard that one before
Maybe he’s a Woke AND a Wanna-Be…and not just a wanna-be Woke. There is a slight difference.
I’ll take the $172MM which came with my “crappy career” any day.
YBC – I suppose I could live with half of that. But any less is slummin’.
Over 46 career bWAR in a 13 year career, $172MM banked, a league MVP and two other top four finishes, an All-Star, led the league in total bases., with a peak 10 year run with a 136 OPS+. Not a HOFer, but also in the top 5 percent of players to play the game. A bit edgy which pissed fans and the opposition off, but he wanted to win.
I forgot momentarily how few -really- good third basemen ever played the game. It’s a tough position to play well, consistently, with any longevity. Thanks folks for helping me re-assess & appreciate the man.
Actually, getting paid to play one game constitutes as a career.
A short one, but a career nonetheless.
And he ended his career without a single -bWAR year. That’s better than 90% of again MLB’ers who don’t know when yo quit
@ athletics?
He had an impressive but controversial career. The Bringer of Rain has dissipated into the afterlife. Thanks for all the fond memories and memes, Josh.
He played for 13 years. What was controversial?
The Jackie Robinson incident, the fights, the bat pimping, the ejections, and the overall rage the guy had. I understand his rage, because he had a similar ordeal to Roger Clemens, but he didn’t have to take it this far.
He tagged Machado and Machado didn’t like it. That’s on Manny.
Tim Anderson overreacted. That was on Tim.
Nobody complains about other players pimping home runs. Why just Josh? You want hitters fined for it? Want pitchers to drill hitters when they do it?
Rage?
You’ve provided nothing to say he is controversial.
So he got suspended by MLB (a decision that was upheld on appeal) because Tim Anderson overreacted? Hmmm that doesnt sound right
Only idiots who insist on getting offended by everything think he was controversial.
How many teammates came to his defense?
MLB didn’t want conflict and chose to hand out a BS suspension. It doesn’t sound right because the racist narrative was a lie, and you bought it.
What exactly did he do wrong? Anderson called HIMSELF Jackie.
Well, now, we made this comment thread controversial over JD.
Again who came to his defense? Literally give me one name.
Phree4u: You’re very right about that!!
First ballot, baby.
You are right. He will be on the first ballot and then off. I think he could be a candidate for a single vote at the bottom of the ballot.
Yeah maybe ballot for City of Oakland dog-catcher.
Congrats on a successful career, Josh. Good luck in retirement!
And nobody shed a tear for the hillbilly
Take the rain with you.
It’s a sunny day!
The guy was a great player for a long time. He made the right move retiring rather than sticking around any longer when it’s obvious he’s well past his prime. To have an MVP season to your name in MLB, that’s an impressive accomplishment.
Thank you for 2019, Josh. You’ll always be the Bringer of Rain!
Bet no one hires him as a coach or instructor,
Who’s to say he wants to go into coaching anyway? And no one? Really? He could probably get hired on by Auburn University as a coach just as tim Hudson did, or a high school, or even a junior travel ball team, and that would still constitute as being hired as a coach.
🙂
Bye
you really showed him!
white knighting on the internet for Josh Donaldson is a cuck trait
🙂
He will go into the Baseball Hall of Fame as a Milwaukee Brewer.
So, his only bad comments were the jackie comments?
Everytime I see you be negative is it for a white guy. WAHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Someone is looking for a grievance. “He said Buh Bye!” Wahhhh
He had such talent for being a clubhouse cancer and pimping long balls that didn’t go out
Pitchers retired him a long time ago.
His career was impressive. MVP in 2015 for Toronto, and he was good until Father Time caught up with him. His 2019 season in Atlanta was darn good.
Good riddance
If Donaldson never became a ballplayer, what would he have done instead?? Assistant to the Graveyard Shift Manager at a Pawn Shop in Reno???
Probably not be a jealous hater on a guy who is 1000 times more successful than him.
Fair
He’d be one of those crypto currency bros on Twitter
Why would you think he would have been your boss? Just a little self centered aren’t you?
His kids and their kids will never have to work a day in their life. Good for you and good luck Josh.
He’ll be in jail by 2026.
Smart…at lest he knows when his time is up. 90% of MLB’ers who sign Minor League contracts should do the same.
Degaz
Why is not signing a minor league deal smart?
Because you are just hanging on at that time. The vast majority of players that sign minor league contracts do not get a MLB deal. I mean what’s the point when you’ve already made the big leagues and had a successful career? I could understand if you never made the show but…
Maybe because they simply like playing ball? Just like there are former mlb players playing Indy ball. Some of them aren’t searching for a way back, they just want to play. Shoot I never played professional ball, I topped out after highschool, but I get with buddies all the time and go play ball. Only difference they have the talent to get paid while playing even if it’s a minors deal, an overseas gig, or even Indy ball. Id take too if I had the chance.
And that closes the book on the Rich Harden trade.
some true perspective…lol
What’s with the negative comments about this guy exactly?
far left
Meh… haters and negative Nancy’s around here are always going to look for fodder to do their things. It’ll no different if this article was about Mr. Rogers or Big Bird retiring.
Look, there’s some stuff to be said about that Mr Roger’s guy!! And don’t get me started on big bird.
Mainly because he called out Tim Anderson for calling himself the modern-day Jackie Robinson. Instead of lashing out against Anderson for comparing himself to a baseball icon, Donaldson got trashed as a racist which was not the case at all.
That’s what I thought. I didn’t understand that controversy at all. I agree with your assessment. Anderson is a tool.
That’s what I thought. I agree though, JD did nothing wrong there. Anderson is just a tool.
Oops. Stupid internet.
So why’d he get suspended?
..bad day for the far left. LOL
If you don’t like him, then don’t like him. I don’t care for his personality either. Not everything has to be about politics and whichever way an individual leans doesn’t define them as a person – that includes you and I.
Did he even say anything politically?
No. All he did was call Tim Anderson “Jackie” after Anderson calling HIMSELF that. Now all of these idiots say he’s racist.
Never heard JD talk politics.
All these idiots like the woke Tony La Russa saying that it was racist
Check his twitter history and likes if you think he is apolitical
Don’t have twitter so….no thanks. Sounds like his opinions are not yours which has yiu and others in knots. Glad your intolerance is alive and well.
Ahh, ok. It shows a bit of a tin ear on his part, but that’s neither racist nor political. People have lowered the racist bar to such an extent that it’s almost meaningless, which is a shame. Save it for the true racists. Anderson, as Jose Ramirez showed, is probably more the issue. Donaldson knew he was sensitive and could get a reaction.
Sounds like he has the “wrong” politics to me.
With 172 million in the bag, 10 years of service time, with 46 bWAR, he did just fine. He bought his mom a house with his big contract money so good on him for treating his mother to a wonderful gift.
Degaz
“The vast majority of players that sign minor league contracts do not get a MLB deal”
Why is that not “smart”
Good riddance
Damn I’ll miss his pop fly bat flips.
Have a feeling his position polar opposite Longoria isn’t far behind.
No room in a successful team clubhouse for an overt raciest bully & moral cowardice behavior whose primary myopic focus is on himself
@Do you work on your own too Franklin?
Apparently there was plenty of room for him in 11 years worth of clubhouses.
Top 10 in mvp 4 times including one #1, and one other year where he finished 11th. A good player. Drafted as a catcher by the Cubs.
I’ll always remember him for getting ejected AFTER hitting a homerun with the twins! He did his home run trot then when he came across home plate he dragged his feet and kicked dirt on home plate to piss off the ump lol. Dude was very immature…..
First player to be ejected after hitting a homer since Ted Simmons in 1978
Wonder how long he would’ve played had he not been traded from the Cubs to the A’s and converted from catcher to 3B.
Very few players in history amass nearly 50 WAR, an MVP and another top 3 MVP finishes. A really good career and definitely a member for the HOVG.
I don’t know you personally so don’t really care if you were difficult at times. You were fun to watch and reached the pinnacle in your chosen field.
Well done Josh!
When your ski;lls tank.
And no MLB team wants you.
It is time to retire.
And count your money.
Yawn! Who cares…
Not even his teammates liked that idiot
Oh. Good.
What a terrible story…I was hoping he would play one more year with the Marlins!
Just be thankful he’s not playing one more year with the Yankees then we’d have to hear Cashman and Boone babbling on about how good he looks, and how he is going to have a great season
The speed of a 21 year old Billy Hamilton combined with the defense of a 24 year old Kevin Kiermaier combined with the power of a 28 year old Albert Pujols and the hustle of a 29 year old Pete Rose
The Blue Jays could have signed him if they sweetened the deal enough for him. Shame they lost him.
Sheesh, you’d think we were talking about Tommy Pham here. Or Puig. No comparison.
Or Aroldis Chapman or Marcell Ozuna or Wander Franco….
Marcell Ozuna still hitting .300 with a plate full of dingers!!!! Love it.
Best of luck in retirement. That 2015 Jays team was a magical time as a fan. Love seeing him still make people impotently seethe here one last time too.
Well who is the biggest a hole in the league now since # 1 retired?
Machado
Muncy
When I first read this I immediately thought “good riddance”. I despised Donaldson while he was playing and absolutely HATED that they put the enemy in pinstripes.
But I think this just shows how good he was and the level of competitiveness and grit he possessed. You hate the best players with an attitude the most when they aren’t on your team and you love them when they are.
Now that all is said and done I can acknowledge a great player and tip my hat to all his shenanigans. It’s a similar emotion to when Pedroia retired and I imagine similar to other fan bases sentiment when Jeter retired.
The vitriol and hate in the comment section shows you did your job well Mr. Donaldson. Good luck in retirement.
It’s just whichever fanbase you are with.
The Yankees ones aren’t that fond of him
Where as Blue Jays fans the majority thought he was great
Thanks for 2015 and 16 Josh. Best of luck now too you.
That’s what bothered me about him being on the Yanks, he should’ve been with the Jays fighting with the Yanks. Those were some intense series with Donaldson and Bautista setting the villain tone that they definitely fed off.
What bothered me about getting him, was that they got him several years too late when his career was pretty much over. But that seems to be the Cashman’s MO in many cases.
That’s personally how I felt about Randy Johnson and Gary Sheffield joining the Yankees. And the A-Rod extension. I’ll root for them to make my team better but that doesn’t mean I have to like them off the field or form an emotional attachment to them. JD had a phenomenal career so I wish him the best in retirement.
I was 77% sure these comments would be closed
I’ll take the small win and not read up 3 inches to surely give it all back
Donaldson meant a lot to the Blue Jays in 2015 and 2016. That team needed that swagger. The hatred toward JD is unwarranted by those above. A late-bloomer who had a very good career and played at a a high level for a lengthy period.
Every single person on here who’s said something negative about Donaldson wishes the 2013-2021 version of him played on their team right now.
Definitely an old-school type who loved to needle the opposition and get under their skin, but also a heck of a player. Career 129 OPS+, an MVP, and set up generations of Donaldson’s with his career earnings.
A drooling and delusional, recently lobotomized Manny Machado flings his bat in tribute to you, sir! EXCELSIOR!!!!!
Never forget that year in ATL. You were a lot of fun to watch! Enjoy retirement and congrats on a great career!
Assuming he’s going to start a terrible podcast, so good luck.
Gonna miss all his bat flips on warning track fly balls
I’d take JD on my team – no problem. Congrats on a great career.
27th best 3B man in MLB history based on BR’s JAWS and wRC+ of 132. Ahead of HOF legends like John McGraw, Deacon White, George Kell, Pie Traynor, Judy Johnson, Ray Dandridge & Bill McKechnie.
Career wRC+:
John McGraw 142
Deacon White 121
George Kell 111
Pie Traynor 107
Judy Johnson 103
Ray Dandridge 110
Bill McKechnie 80
Look forward to this legend of the game being enshrined in the Hall of Fame along with his legendary peers already in there.
Great player but I doubt he get’s in….50 WAR seems to be the cutoff these days and even 60’s aren’t guaranteed.
@Degaz
I apologize. I was mostly poking fun. I didn’t do a good job of presenting my sarcasm well enough.
It was clear.
A fabulous player with a volcanic swing and a great glove. The key to a 2015 Jays team that should have went all the way. And don’t blame him for the rancid exchange with that forgettable clown who thinks he’s Jackie Robinson. Adieu, Bringer of Rain.
Thought cashman wanted to bring him back for 1 year and $25 million
Pet Peeve: “Going into 2015, the club traded away guys like Brandon Moss, Jeff Samardzija … ”
Why not just say “the club traded Brandon Moss and Jeff Samardzjia” ?
Who is “like them”?
Clarity !!! Simplicity !!!
Hall of Fame?
I love how we have actual jackasses in this game and this is the guy who gets all the hate because of some manufactured “racist” incident. Manny Machado swiped a first basemen’s leg while running to first, went spikes up into second, and literally tried to throw his bat at a pitcher. Ozuna was caught on camera beating his wife or whatever. Josh Donaldson, on the other hand, calls the SELF-PROCLAIMED modern day Jackie Robinson, “Jackie”, and everyone gets all pissy. Oh, and he pimps homeruns. Who else pimps homeruns? Oh right, modern day Jackie Robinson. And then on top of that, you’re trying to rewrite his career into one of a glorified, overrated bench bat or something. The guy had a damn good career. HOF? Probably not. But not many players win an MVP and have a career WAR close to 50. He had a solid frickin’ career. Ya’ll are ridiculous.
Well said
Donaldsuck no more
Too bad he didn’t retire a year ago.
Good career. Was an amazing player and at his peak, one of the best in baseball.
Josh was thinking GREED as do all ML players – glad to see no one picked him up