Sunday’s game between the New York Yankees and the Chicago White Sox was, for the lack of a better word, eventful.
There were several clashes between Yankees third baseman Josh Donaldson and White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson.
Donaldson said he called Anderson “Jackie” as a joke, because the White Sox star had said in 2019 he felt like today’s Jackie Robinson.
Anderson took offense, and a verbal confrontation started.
For his role in initiating the melee, the league suspended Donaldson for one game, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.
“NY #Yankees 3B Josh Donaldson is suspended one game and fined, which he is appealing, for his incident with #Whitesox shortstop Tim Anderson on Saturday,” Nightengale tweeted.
NY #Yankees 3B Josh Donaldson is suspended one game and fined, which he is appealing, for his incident with #Whitesox shortstop Tim Anderson on Saturday
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) May 23, 2022
Donaldson Apologized But Is Appealing The Suspension
Donaldson, after the game, explained the situation and even offered some sort of apology.
“I called him Jackie. So let me give you a little context of that. In 2019, he came out with the interview saying that he’s the new Jackie Robinson of baseball. He’s gonna bring back fun to the game. Right? And in 2019 when I played for Atlanta we actually joked about that [in] the game. I don’t know what’s changed from [then] … and I’ve said it to him in years past, not in any manner, [other] than just joking around for the fact that he calls himself Jackie Robinson,” he explained, according to the New York Times.