Yankees third baseman Josh Donaldson has been suspended for one game and fined an undisclosed amount for “inappropriate comments during Saturday’s game,” Major League Baseball announced Monday.
The inappropriate comments were Donaldson referring to White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson, who is Black, as “Jackie,” while he was on base. “Disrespectful comment. Basically he tried to call me Jackie Robinson, you know ‘What’s up Jackie.’ I don’t play like that. I don’t play at all,” Anderson told reporters Saturday. Donaldson’s comment sparked a benches-clearing incident later in that game.
“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,” said Michael Hill, MLB’s senior vice president for on-field operations in a statement released Monday afternoon. Hill spoke directly with Aaron Boone following the incident.
Donaldson has elected to appeal the suspension.
In addition to his suspension, Donaldson was also put on the COVID-19 list, joining Joey Gallo and Kyle Higashioka, who hit the COVID IL one day prior.
“I certainly respect MLB,” Aaron Boone said after the Yankees lost to the Orioles on Monday. “I think they were thoughtful, looked into it, did their due diligence on it and made what was a tough call. I don’t agree with it. I don’t think it warranted a suspension.”
Added Aaron Judge: “It’s a tough one. Joke or not, I don’t think [Donaldson’s comment] was the right thing to do there, especially given the history with the series in Chicago. Little bit of beef between Anderson and JD. Anderson’s one of the best shortstops in the game, a big part of MLB, what’s going on here, and how we’re trying to grow the game. JD made a mistake, owned up to it, and now we have to move on.”
The manager also provided some clarity on Donaldson’s COVID situation.
“Kind of similar symptoms as [Gallo and Higashioka],” Boone reported. “We’ll see what we have there. Higgy and Gallo are both doing a little bit better today. They were tested again today so we’ll know more this evening and potentially have them back soon depending on the results and how they’re feeling.”
None of the three have actually tested positive for COVID. Boone said Donaldson hasn’t even taken a test yet, he just called in from home and said he wasn’t feeling well. The Yankees had him stay home upon receiving the news. Gallo and Higashioka took PCR tests on Monday afternoon but the Yankees had not received the results at the time that Boone spoke, roughly three hours before Monday’s first pitch.
“Any time it rises to a level where they’re not well, Higgy and Joey are more than just not feeling great, they’re feeling sick,” Boone said. “Same with Josh today, symptom wise. It’s not just allergies. They’re not available to play.”
Miguel Andujar was called up to take Donaldson’s spot on the roster.
