NEW YORK — MLB suspended Josh Donaldson for one game Monday after the Yankees slugger made multiple references to Jackie Robinson while talking to White Sox star Tim Anderson during the weekend.
Donaldson, who played for the Braves during the 2019 season, also was fined an undisclosed amount for his actions Saturday at Yankee Stadium. The punishment was announced by Michael Hill, the senior vice president of on-field operations for MLB.
Donaldson has elected to appeal the penalty. Shortly before the suspension was announced, the Yankees said Donaldson had been put on the COVID-19 injured list.
“MLB has completed the process of speaking to the individuals involved in this incident. 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," Hill said in a statement.
“In addition, Mr. Donaldson’s remark was a contributing factor in a bench-clearing incident between the teams, and warrants discipline,” he said.
White Sox pitching coach Ethan Katz didn't think the penalty was enough.
“Just one game. We all saw his malice at third a week ago, then this comment with the ridiculous excuse that followed. What’s the point or message behind a 1 game suspension? This is incredibly disappointing and plain frustrating,” Katz posted on Twitter.
The White Sox had a day off Monday. They are not scheduled to play the Yankees again this season.
AL East-leading New York is scheduled to open a three-game series against Baltimore on Monday night and then head to Tampa Bay for a four-game set beginning Thursday.
Donaldson said he twice called Anderson by “Jackie” — as in Robinson, who famously broke MLB’s color barrier in 1947 — during the Yankees’ 7-5 win Saturday. The benches and bullpens emptied as tensions escalated.
Anderson, one of baseball’s leading Black voices and an All-Star shortstop, said it was a "disrespectful comment.” White Sox manager Tony La Russa said it was racist, and Anderson agreed.
“Basically, it was trying to call me Jackie Robinson. Like, ‘What’s up, Jackie?’” Anderson said after Saturday's game.
Donaldson, who is white, said he had used the “Jackie” reference in the past with Anderson, who had said he viewed himself as a potential modern-day Robinson in a 2019 interview with Sports Illustrated.
“My meaning of that is not any term trying to be racist by any fact of the matter,” Donaldson said Saturday.
Anderson and Donaldson, the 2015 AL MVP, did not speak with the media Sunday, when the White Sox swept a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium. Through a Yankees spokesperson, Donaldson said he hadn’t talked with Anderson since the incident.
“Basically, it was trying to call me Jackie Robinson. Like, ‘What's up, Jackie?'"
Anderson started the second game and was booed by fans, with some chanting "Jackie" at him. He hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning of a 5-0 win and then put his finger to his lips in a hushing gesture as he rounded the bases.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he talked to Donaldson after Saturday’s game and believed his player’s explanation about why he made the “Jackie” remark — but he also said he thought Donaldson shouldn’t have used the term.
“I think with what’s going on between the two players and between the two teams over the last week or two, I certainly understand how that would be sensitive and understand the reaction,” Boone said. “I also understand Josh has been very forthcoming with the history of it and the context of it. So I don’t believe there was any malicious intent in that regard.”
“But this is just my opinion — (that’s) somewhere he should not be going,” he said.
Donaldson had clashed with the White Sox on multiple occasions before this weekend.
The benches also emptied May 13 after Anderson shoved Donaldson following a hard tag in Chicago.
White Sox ace Lucas Giolito used an expletive in calling Donaldson a "pest" last year after Donaldson appeared to yell "Not sticky anymore!" after a first-inning homer for Minnesota — a reference to MLB cracking down on pitchers using sticky substances on baseballs.
The 36-year-old Donaldson is batting .238 with five home runs and 15 RBIs in 37 games during his first season with the Yankees.
Boone said Donaldson told the team he was experiencing symptoms, prompting the team to put him on the COVID-19 injured list. He had not been tested, Boone said.
