Given the population of your average MLB team, it is rare for even the most outspoken player to acquire a level of personal distaste so deeply that not a single person in the clubhouse can defend it. This dynamic makes for a good barometer: if you’re working on a cud that none of the co-workers you work with every day are willing to stand by your side, then you’re really cud. This is where Josh Donaldson finds himself.
Donaldson, who angered White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson by calling Anderson “Jackie,” was no less apologetic about the fact, speaking to reporters yesterday and being asked if his teammates weren’t interested in his defense. From the day the comment was made. Yankees manager Aaron Boone went through the process of declaring that Donaldson was not a racist, but acknowledged that Donaldson “should not go anywhere” as a way to point to Anderson using Jackie Robinson’s name. When Judge Aaron was asked about the “Jackie” incident, he had to say, “I don’t think that’s the right thing to do.”
Donaldson seems to be hurt by this lack of support. “I think it was hard to hear, for sure,” he told reporters. “I’m proud to be a good teammate, and wherever I’ve been, the companies I’ve been part of, minus Oakland, they’ve offered me extensions, they’ve wanted me to stay.”
Donaldson was also asked to respond that his former teammate Liam Hendricks had recently told reporters that he was “not a fan” of Donaldson.
While it is somewhat gratifying to see Donaldson confronted with the fact that there are far fewer people than he actually imagined, the answer to the question about Hendrix does not raise much hope that any of this will affect his behavior. If that guy has a problem with me, why didn’t he say it once in my face? It is a teenage reaction that is deployed every day by irreplaceable shitheads who are unable to understand how ordinary people can behave in a decent society. Given all that we know about Donaldson, perhaps this embarrassing fact is going to bring him to the conclusion that he is always surrounded by cowards and champs who are too afraid to stand up for what they believe and speak for them. Mind I expect him to be a guest on Joe Rogan’s podcast in six months.