Another year another Josh Donaldson dust-up with the White Sox. Donaldson was traded out of the division this offseason but that hasn’t stopped him from stirring the pot with the White Sox.
Last season Donaldson accused Lucas Giolito of cheating which erupted in a war of words between the two sides. He was at it once again on Saturday afternoon causing a benches-clearing incident between the Yankees and White Sox.
In the fifth inning, Yasmani Grandal confronted Donaldson as he was walking toward the plate. The two engaged in a heated discussion before both benches and the bullpens spilled onto the field. Tim Anderson was noticeably upset and had to be dragged into the dugout by Gavin Sheets and Jose Abreu. Abreu had to restrain Anderson while the two teams separated.
No punches were thrown and nobody was ejected. However, warnings were issued to both teams.
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Grandal was sticking up for Anderson after the two engaged in a jawing match in the third inning as the Yankees were leaving the field. The two have history. On May 13th Anderson gave Donaldson a shove after being tagged at third base which ignited the incident. Anderson said in his post-game press conference that Donaldson called him “Jackie” in reference to Jackie Robinson. Donaldson confirmed that he did in fact call Anderson “Jackie” but claimed it “used to be a joke between them”. This explanation is ridiculous considering the two have never been friends. The White Sox and Donaldson notoriously hate each other. Donaldson did it to try and antagonize him. In 2019 Anderson did refer to himself as Jackie Robinson but it was in a completely different context. “I kind of feel like today’s Jackie Robinson,” Anderson said after being suspended in 2019 for his role in a benches-clearing brawl between the Royals caused by a bat flip after his home run. “That’s huge to say but it’s cool, man because he changed the game, and I feel like I’m getting to a point where I need to change the game.” To Anderson's credit, he has helped change the game. He had been one of baseball's most marketable superstars. He has made baseball cool to an audience that otherwise would not watch. The White Sox even used “change the game” as their new promotional slogan. Tony La Russa refused to discuss the incident with the media but was visibly angered when the subject was brought up. He didn’t want to talk to anyone from the New York press. “He made a racist comment, Donaldson, and that’s all I’m going to say,” La Russa said. https://mobile.twitter.com/nbcswhitesox/status/1528119995112296448?s=21&t=yIBppipng2zmuNH_ijtV1Q Anderson and La Russa have a right to be upset. The use of “Jackie” as a slur is completely classless. It will be interesting to see if the MLB suspends Donaldson. Anderson's teammates were quick to speak out against Donaldson after the game as well. “I think that’s very sad,” Dallas Keuchel told reporters after hearing about Donaldson’s comment. “There’s no need or room for that. Anywhere.” “This game went through a period of time where a lot of those comments were made, and I think we’re way past that,” Yasmani Grandal said.“It’s just unacceptable. I just thought it was a low blow, and I want to make sure I’ve got my team’s back. There’s no way that you’re allowed to say something like that, that like I said, is just unacceptable.” Donaldson did apologize after the game. But if you need to give context to explain why something you said is not racist, it’s a good sign that you probably said something you shouldn’t have
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