Josh Donaldson shows love to current Blue Jays, tips cap to fans
There cannot be one negative thing said about what Josh Donaldson brought to the Blue Jays during his time in Toronto.
Now he's showing his appreciation with some praise for the current iteration of the club.
Returning for just the third time since his departure, now as a member of the Minnesota Twins, the 2015 American League MVP just wishes he could get a slight taste of that feeling of a full Rogers Centre.
“This place, when 50,000 people are packed into it, would be rumbling. I wish this team would be able to feel that right now because they deserve it the way they are playing,” Donaldson said after Saturday’s game, per Rob Longley of the Toronto Sun.
Even though it wasn't a crowd of 50,000 strong, the third baseman was greeted with a standing ovation during his first plate appearance on Friday.
Josh Donaldson receives a standing ovation from @BlueJays fans as he steps onto the plate at the Rogers Centre for the first time this series. 💙@BringerOfRain20 | #BlueJaysOnSN pic.twitter.com/iJoQW6lfNT
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) September 17, 2021
After the warm reception, Donaldson reflected on his time in Toronto.
“There are definitely a lot of good memories here,” Donaldson told CityTV. “I think everywhere you go, you kind of generate some type of reliving those moments to some extent.
“From Day 1, after I got traded here the Blue Jays fans took me in right away. I guess they really appreciated my personality, how I played and so on. But, you know, with that being said, there was a lot of times here where we’ve played great and probably gave them a lot of memories as well. So maybe they want to come and, you know, still show appreciation, which is nice.”
During his four years with the Blue Jays, the 35-year-old posted a slash line of .281/.383/.548. Beyond the AL MVP title, he was able to be part of some franchise-defining moments, such as hitting a solo walk-off homer at the end of that monumental 2015 campaign to cement his name in the history books.
The 2021 Blue Jays are hoping for some heroics of their own as they continue to battle for a spot in the postseason. After Saturday’s 6-2 win over the Twins, Toronto sits in a playoff position, just half a game up on the New York Yankees for the second wild card.
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