NEW YORK — Yankees third baseman Josh Donaldson said Saturday night that he called White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson “Jackie” during that afternoon’s game in New York, leading to tension on the field and a benches-clearing situation that did not escalate into a brawl.
Donaldson said he was referring to comments Anderson made to Sports Illustrated in 2019, when he said, “I kind of feel like today’s Jackie Robinson” regarding his interest in changing the culture of baseball to allow for more individual personalities and flair. Donaldson said Saturday that he and Anderson had bantered about the quote in the past and he was attempting to reference what he felt was a joke between the two to “defuse” on-field tension.
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Anderson, who is African American, said he did not interpret Donaldson, who is White, saying “What’s up, Jackie?” during Saturday’s game as a joke between the two.
“It was a disrespectful comment,” Anderson told reporters in New York on Saturday. “I don’t play like that. I don’t really play at all. I wasn’t really bothering anybody today, but he made the comment and it was disrespectful, and I don’t think it was called for. It was unnecessary.”
During Saturday’s game, Donaldson and Anderson exchanged words briefly early on. White Sox catcher Yasmani Grandal later had words for Donaldson during an at-bat in the fifth inning. At that point, Anderson jogged in from short and the benches cleared, with White Sox players José Abreu and Gavin Sheets pulling Anderson away from Donaldson.
“This game went through a period of time where comments like that were made,” Grandal said. “I think we are way past that. It’s unacceptable. I just thought it was a low blow.”
Umpires warned both teams, and the issue did not escalate.
After the game, White Sox manager Tony La Russa said, “He made a racist comment — Donaldson — and that’s all I’m going to say.”
Yankees manager Aaron Boone, who spoke to reporters before Donaldson did, was told La Russa had said Donaldson made a racist comment to Anderson and was asked if he knew about it.
“I know of some talk of that, but I’ve gotta go in and get to the bottom of it,” Boone said after the Yankees’ 7-5 win.
Donaldson explained the situation as such:
“So, first inning, I called him ‘Jackie.’ Let me give you a little context of that. In 2019, he said in an interview that he’s the new Jackie Robinson of baseball and he’s gonna bring back fun for the game, right? So, in 2019, when I played for Atlanta, we actually joked about that in the game. I don’t know what’s changed, and I’ve said it to him in years past — not in any manner, just joking around with the fact that he called himself Jackie Robinson. So, if something has changed from that … my meaning of that is not in any term trying to be racist, by any fact of the matter. It was just off an interview. That’s what he called himself, and we said that before and we joked about it. He laughed, whatever.”
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Donaldson said he and Anderson had not, to that point, had a private conversation about his comment, but he would be open to it if Anderson would.
Anderson told reporters Donaldson called him “Jackie” twice on Saturday. Donaldson reached base in the second, third and seventh innings.
“It happened the first time he got on, and I spared him that time,” Anderson said. “And then it happened again.”
There was tension between Donaldson and Anderson last week in Chicago when Donaldson pushed Anderson off third base on an attempted pickoff play, leading to an umpire ruling that Anderson was safe. Anderson had words for Donaldson after that play, with an umpire in between the two. The benches cleared and players met around third base, but the situation did not escalate.
Donaldson said Saturday that he “took responsibility for the tag and wasn’t trying to do anything there.”
He said referring to Anderson as “Jackie” was his attempt to “defuse” the situation and “make light” of the tension.
“Like, hey, we’re not trying to start any brawls or anything like that,” Donaldson said. “Obviously, he deemed that it was disrespectful. And look, if he did, I apologize. That’s not what I was trying to do, by any manner.”
Donaldson played for the Twins in 2020 and 2021, facing the White Sox regularly in AL Central matchups.
In 2021, Donaldson had a public dispute with White Sox starter Lucas Giolito. In a White Sox-Twins game, Donaldson could be heard saying, “Hands not sticky anymore?” to Giolito, referring to MLB’s crackdown on the use of foreign substances by pitchers. Giolito referred to Donaldson as a “pest” and said if Donaldson was going to make an allegation about him, to do it to his face. Donaldson then told reporters he had confronted Giolito in the parking lot of the White Sox stadium.
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MLB is investigating Saturday’s incident and interviewing those involved. The Yankees and White Sox are scheduled to play a doubleheader Sunday afternoon in New York, their final scheduled meeting of the regular season.
(Photo of Yasmani Grandal, umpire Nick Mahrley and Josh Donaldson: Sarah Stier / Getty Images)