As a former Blue Jays fan favourite puts the bat and glove away for good, let’s take a trip down memory lane and remember everything third baseman Josh Donaldson accomplished for Toronto and the Blue Jays after 13 quality seasons.
Josh Donaldson’s MLB Story
Donaldson played with a total of 7 MLB ballclubs, starting his MLB by being drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 2007. The slugging 3B would then be traded to the Oakland Athletics where he played 4 seasons before being traded to the Toronto Blue Jays in 2015, becoming one of the franchise faces in the process. Afterwards, he would find himself bouncing around from the Cleveland Guardians, Atlanta Braves, Minnesota Twins, New York Yankees, and Milwaukee Brewers.
The impact that “JD” has had in baseball, specifically in Canada, is something that shouldn’t be taken for granted. He was an inspiration to thousands nationwide and allowed many fans to get interested and invested in the sport of baseball as a whole, from youth to adult.
It should be kept in mind that the season before Donaldson’s arrival, the Blue Jays failed to make the playoffs for 21 consecutive seasons since their 1993 World Series title. It was the 2015 season where he would make an MVP-caliber impact, hitting for 41 home runs, 123 RBIs (2nd-most in MLB), a batting average of .297, an on base percentage of .371, and a slugging percentage of .568.
The slugger would go on to win the 2015 AL MVP Award, becoming only the second Blue Jay to achieve such a feat, with the first being George Bell who would hand him his MVP honors at the Rogers Centre.
Along with playing a great offensive game, Donaldson’s defensive ability at 3rd wasn’t ignored, as he played the 3B position strongly. His most well known play was a depth-defying grab into the Tampa Bay crowd at Tropicana Field in a contest against the Rays. As Buck Martinez said, he “pulled a Derek Jeter.”
Josh Donaldson also came to play in the clutch moments with 4 walk off hits in the 2015 season, with 3 of them homers. He had a total of 4 home runs in the postseason and 13 RBI’s. While many think about the iconic Bautista Bat Flip during Game 5 of the ALDS against the Texas Rangers, most people forget the angst of the at bat before, with Josh Donaldson stepping up to the dish with the bases loaded. While it wasn’t a grand slam, that bloop into centre field to tie the game was still a pivotal moment before Jose brought it home.
Two of the most memorable moments by Donaldson were also regarding how he took big risks that had big payoffs, and both were from 3rd to home plate.
The first was his improbable steal and slide home against the Cleveland Guardians on an incredibly shallow fly ball (a game I vividly remember attending and witnessing in front of my very eyes). The second needs no introduction. Game 3 of the 2016 ALDS against Texas again, Martin ground ball to Andrus, 2nd for one out, bobbled by Odor as the throw is errand. Donaldson makes a mad dash home, he slides in safely! Series over, the Jays are ALCS bound!
While the 2016 season saw Donaldson take a step back in offensive performances overall, he still had a productive season and had a higher on base percentage than the year prior at .404. That slide was the cherry on top.
Unfortunately, the good times couldn’t last, as after another franchise face, Edwin Encarnacion, signed with Cleveland, the team they ironically lost to in the past ALCS, the team would free fall into a state of mediocrity in the following seasons. Despite that though, Donaldson would see himself as a Blue Jay for 2 more seasons, and continued to be an inspiration for young Canadians to follow their dream and persevere in the sport.
It could be argued that he was traded too late to the point where his trade value diminished, but that didn’t stop him from being shipped to join his buddy Edwin in Cleveland for P Julian Merryweather and a player to be named later.
While his time in Toronto didn’t see them achieving the ultimate goal of winning a World Series, he helped put the Blue Jays back on the baseball map, proving it was more than just a hockey market. When given a strong and competitive team, Toronto can become one of the loudest, rowdiest, and most passionate baseball markets out there.
Out of the 7 cities he played in, the self proclaimed bringer of rain has always and will always be the most beloved in Toronto more than anywhere else in the world. His influence will never be forgotten here in Canada.
One Final Message
I hope you enjoyed this trip down memory lane. All I can really say now is, thank you Josh. You will forever be an MVP in our hearts.