Josh Donaldson Retires

On Sean Casey’s podcast yesterday, Josh Donaldson announced his retirement from Major League Baseball.

A controversial player who wore his emotions on his sleeves, Donaldson was first drafted by the Chicago Cubs as a Catcher, but after he was traded to the Oakland Athletics and was converted to a Third Baseman, he had a path to the Majors.  Donaldson debuted in Oakland in 2010 for a brief stay, but was back in 2012 to start the year, though was sent back down to AAA.  After he was called back up in August, Donaldson was back to stay.

Donaldson batted .301 with 24 Home Runs, 93 RBIs with an .883 OPS in 2013 and was fourth in MVP voting.  He followed that with a season with better power numbers (29 HR, 98 RBI) and was an All-Star for the first time.  The A’s knew that they would not be able to resign the rising star, so they did what they always do: they traded Donaldson.  His landing place was Toronto, and he paid immediate dividends by giving them the best season of his life.

In 2015, Donaldson was on fire, leading the AL in Runs (122) and RBIs (123) with 41 Home Runs and a Slash Line of .297/.371/.568.  He also won his first Silver Slugger and the Hank Aaron Award.  Donaldson followed that up with another excellent campaign, winning his second Silver Slugger, finishing fourth in MVP voting, and belting 37 Home Runs with 99 RBIs.  He was not an All-Star in 2017, but was still strong with 33 Home Runs, and in all three full seasons with Toronto, Donaldson had a Slugging Percentage of .549 or higher.  Donaldson had a myriad of health issues through 2018 and was traded to Cleveland, but he only played 52 Games.  It looked like Donaldson might be done, but he had other ideas.

Donaldson signed with Atlanta for one season, and he had his comeback year with 37 Home Runs and 94 RBIs, and he again had a Slugging Percentage over .500 (.521).  This was his last great year, as Donaldson signed with the Minnesota Twins, and injuries mounted, as did his brash comments.  Allegedly, he angered the entire Chicago White Sox (especially Tim Anderson), and as his play declined, his filter receded.  He finished his career with a disappointing run with the New York Yankees, and although his career ended with a whimper, his time as a lion was spectacular.

Overall, Donaldson had 279 Home Runs, 816 RBIs and 1,310 Hits.

Here at Notinhalloffame.com, we would like to wish Josh Donaldson the best in his post-playing career.