Josh Donaldson walked into the media Zoom room on Wednesday ready for a fight. The Minnesota Twins entered that night’s game 12.5 games behind the Chicago White Sox in the AL Central. With trade rumors swirling, it would be easy for Donaldson to mail in the obligatory post-game press conference.
Instead, he sat in front of the camera like he was digging into the batter’s box, ready to let it fly. For the next 20 minutes, Donaldson unleashed his theories on Lucas Giolito’s spin rate, Ozzie Guillen’s desire to hit him in the ribs, and his thoughts on Fidel Castro.
Donaldson’s comments drew a collective eye roll from Twins fans lamenting his $92 million contract, but this is not a time to wish what could have been. The Twins are in their last stand and, to help the team, Donaldson is channeling his inner Billy Martin.
Martin was a master at pushing the right buttons for the New York Yankees in the 70s and 80s and the master of the early-game ejection. When his Yankees got off to a sluggish start, Martin would go out onto the field with the objective of getting tossed and accomplish it by yelling, kicking, screaming, and spitting on his way to an early shower.
While it’s unlikely we’ll see Donaldson spit to get his teammates’ attention, the past 24 hours shows what he’s willing to do to save the Twins’ season.
In Tuesday’s game against the White Sox, Donaldson smashed a two-run homer to give the Twins an early lead against Giolito. When Donaldson crossed home plate, he screamed, “Hand’s not sticky anymore!” in reference to MLB’s crackdown on sticky substances.
Although the Twins’ lead didn’t last long, Giolito was still bitter about the comment after the game.
It would have been understandable if Donaldson brushed it off and retaliated by hitting another home run, but that’s not what Marin would do. Instead, Donaldson confronted Giolito in the parking lot, obliging Giolito’s request to “talk shit to my face.”
“He said, ‘I wish he would say it to my face,’” Donaldson explained. “Well, I did say it to his face. We had a talk last night. Let’s just be quite frank with this…he didn’t have much to say.”
Donaldson has also tried other methods to get his teammates’ attention, calling a clubhouse meeting during last weekend’s series with the Cleveland Indians. During the 2019 “Bomba Squad” season, a team meeting probably would have kept it light, and they would have continued chugging toward a division title. The tone was probably much different with Donaldson.
When Donaldson was signed back in January of 2020, he was viewed as the missing piece the Twins needed to get over the top. While his time in Minnesota has been marred by injury, we haven’t seen the intense side of him that has helped him be a part of seven playoff teams in the past nine seasons.
But his aggressive nature hasn’t been limited to Zoom calls and clubhouse meetings. Over his past 21 games, Donaldson has exploded at the plate, hitting .300/.383/.643 with seven homers and 12 RBI.
With the Twins buried in the standings, Donaldson will do everything he can to make sure his team doesn’t go down without a fight. When asked if the situation had anything to do with Minnesota’s need to get as many victories as possible, Donaldson let out a resounding yes.
“I’m trying to get out boys fired up and ready to go,” Donaldson said. “We’re at a point in our season where this is critical. This is do or die for us. We’re playing with a sense of urgency right now to go out there and win ball games and me talking to my teammates and trying to encourage them and trying to get them fired up…that’s my job. That’s why I’m here.”
It remains to be seen how much more Donaldson will imitate Martin over the coming weeks as the Twins try to become relevant before the trade deadline. While it’s unlikely Donaldson will convince Rocco Baldelli to draw a lineup out of a hat or get into a fight with another player in the dugout, Donaldson is ready for the Twins to make a last stand.
