1985
Born December 8, 1985
Pensacola, FL, USA
Josh Donaldson Marquee
b. December 8, 1985 · Oakland Athletics 2010, 2012–2014, Toronto Blue Jays 2015–2018, Cleveland Indians 2018, Atlanta Braves 2019, Minnesota Twins 2020–2021, New York Yankees 2022–2023, Milwaukee Brewers 2023
He was drafted as a catcher, converted to third base in the minor leagues at twenty-five, and did not hold a major-league job until he was twenty-six. In 2015, his first year in Toronto, he hit 41 home runs and led the American League with 123 runs batted in and 122 runs, and won the Most Valuable Player award with 23 of the 30 first-place votes.
Thirteen seasons gave him 1,310 hits, 279 home runs, 816 runs batted in, 725 walks and a .261 average, with three All-Star selections and two Silver Sluggers. He finished fourth in the voting in 2013 and again in 2016.
A calf injury in 2017 and then his thirties took the rest of it: seven clubs in his last six years, and a Comeback Player of the Year award in 2019 in Atlanta between them. He is not yet on a Hall of Fame ballot.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| All-Star selection | 3 | 2014, 2015, 2016 |
| Player of the Week | 3 | 2013, 2015, 2016 |
| Silver Slugger | 2 | 2015, 2016 |
| Comeback Player of the Year | 1 | 2019 |
| Hank Aaron Award | 1 | 2015 |
| MLB Players Choice Comeback Player | 1 | 2019 |
| MLB Players Choice Outstanding Player | 1 | 2015 |
| MLB Players Choice Player of the Year | 1 | 2015 |
| Most Valuable Player | 1 | 2015 |
| Player of the Month | 1 | 2013 |
| This Year in Baseball Best Play - Defense | 1 | 2015 |
| The Sporting News All-Star | 1 | 2016 |
| The Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year | 1 | 2019 |
| The Sporting News Major League Player of the Year | 1 | 2015 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | OAK | 14 | 32 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 12 | 0 | .156 |
| 2012 | OAK | 75 | 274 | 34 | 66 | 16 | 0 | 9 | 33 | 14 | 61 | 4 | .241 |
| 2013 | OAK | 158 | 579 | 89 | 174 | 37 | 3 | 24 | 93 | 76 | 110 | 5 | .301 |
| 2014 | OAK | 158 | 608 | 93 | 155 | 31 | 2 | 29 | 98 | 76 | 130 | 8 | .255 |
| 2015 | TOR | 158 | 620 | 122 | 184 | 41 | 2 | 41 | 123 | 73 | 133 | 6 | .297 |
| 2016 | TOR | 155 | 577 | 122 | 164 | 32 | 5 | 37 | 99 | 109 | 119 | 7 | .284 |
| 2017 | TOR | 113 | 415 | 65 | 112 | 21 | 0 | 33 | 78 | 76 | 111 | 2 | .270 |
| 2018 | CLE/TOR | 52 | 187 | 30 | 46 | 14 | 0 | 8 | 23 | 31 | 54 | 2 | .246 |
| 2019 | ATL | 155 | 549 | 96 | 142 | 33 | 0 | 37 | 94 | 100 | 155 | 4 | .259 |
| 2020 | MIN | 28 | 81 | 14 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 11 | 18 | 24 | 0 | .222 |
| 2021 | MIN | 135 | 457 | 73 | 113 | 26 | 0 | 26 | 72 | 74 | 114 | 0 | .247 |
| 2022 | NYY | 132 | 478 | 59 | 106 | 28 | 0 | 15 | 62 | 54 | 148 | 2 | .222 |
| 2023 | MIL/NYY | 51 | 165 | 18 | 25 | 5 | 0 | 13 | 26 | 22 | 50 | 0 | .152 |
| Career | — | 1384 | 5022 | 816 | 1310 | 287 | 12 | 279 | 816 | 725 | 1221 | 40 | .261 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | NYY | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Career | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
On this day & linked events
2010
Major-league debut: Josh Donaldson
Josh Donaldson made a major-league debut on April 30, 2010.
2016
Josh Donaldson's Three-Home-Run Game, 2016
Josh Donaldson hit three home runs for the Toronto Blue Jays against the Minnesota Twins on August 28, 2016.
2023
Final major-league game: Josh Donaldson
Josh Donaldson played a final major-league game on October 1, 2023.
Image: Keith Allison, CC BY-SA 2.0