Major League Baseball has announced a one-game suspension for New York Yankees third-baseman Josh Donaldson after his comment to Tim Anderson.
“MLB has completed the process of speaking to the individuals involved in this incident,” the statement said. “There is no dispute over what was said on the field. Regardless of Mr. Donaldson’s intent, the comment he directed toward Mr. Anderson was disrespectful and in poor judgment, particularly when viewed in the context of their prior interactions.
Josh Donaldson reportedly called Tim Anderson "Jackie". This "Jackie" comment comes after an interview where Tim Anderson said he wanted to change the game like the all-time great Jackie Robinson.
Yankees superstar outfielder Aaron Judge even says that Donaldson made a mistake.
"You know, joke or not ... I just don't think it's the right thing to do there, especially given the history, especially the series in Chicago, kind of a little bit of beef between JD and Anderson is one of the best shortstops in the game and a big part of MLB and what's going on here and how we can grow the game," Judge said.
Tim Anderson wasn't happy when Donaldson referred to him as "Jackie", and neither were his teammates. Because of the comments, both teams cleared their benches and got into an altercation.
After the game, Anderson had some strong words for the Yankees' third baseman.
“Basically tried to call me Jackie Robinson, ‘What’s up, Jackie?’ I don’t play like that. He made the comment and it was disrespectful. I don’t think it was called for."
Donaldson was fined an undisclosed amount. He's appealing the punishment, which will allow him to play for the Yankees until the appeal process is completed. Before the suspension, he was put on the COVID-19 injured list.
It's somewhat questionable why he wouldn't just shake this off and move on, but he clearly believes he didn't make a mistake here.
After that comment, the Yankees are now on a three-game losing streak. Karma, or what?
In all seriousness, it's tough to get a thought here on what happened. If Donaldson and Tim Anderson were friends, this situation would be looked at differently. But, because of their history, this is a bad look for Josh. This was a comment that he shouldn't have said. Someone who's a veteran like him knows better than to say something like that.
