MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Josh Donaldson’s first-inning groundout Saturday afternoon was as innocuous as they come. But the aftermath was anything but.
As Donaldson watched the slow grounder to short, he jogged up the first base line, turning around once he’d been retired to return to his dugout. As he made his way back, he heard a series of taunts from the opposition dugout regarding his effort in running out the groundball.
Donaldson’s not one to shy away from confrontation—just ask Angels pitching coach Mike Butcher—so he turned his head to his left and fired back with some choice words.
But Donaldson’s response came as he jogged by home plate umpire Toby Basner, who seemingly determined the words were intended for him, and quickly threw Donaldson out of the game.
“He must have thought I was talking to him,” Donaldson said. “I don’t know why he would be thinking that I was talking to him in any kind of derogatory manner. We have no previous history between each other. There’s no conflict between him and I. That’s why I was so shocked to get thrown out so quickly.”
Along with Blue Jays manager John Gibbons, Donaldson pleaded his case to Basner for a few moments. But you would be hard pressed to find an instance in the history of the game when an umpire reversed an ejection. After the brief argument, Donaldson went back to the Blue Jays clubhouse to watch the rest of the game, as second baseman Darwin Barney took over at third, while Ryan Goins came into the game to play second.
When the Blue Jays clubhouse opened shortly after the final out, Donaldson was sitting quietly at his locker, in awe of the entire experience.
“I just want to apologize to my team and to the fans who showed up to the game today, because they paid good money to come watch our team play and watch me in the game. My intentions were not to say anything to Toby or to be ejected at all,” Donaldson said. “Its’ tough. It’s really tough. Our guys are out there, we’re feeling pretty good about ourselves these last couple days. And then for me to get ejected coming off a pretty good night last night, it’s not something you want to do.”
Crew chief Joe West, who was the second base umpire on Saturday, said he supported Basner’s decision to throw Donaldson out of the game.
“[Donaldson] grounded out, and while he’s running back to his dugout he said something to [the Twins] dugout. He yelled back,” West said. “But when he went by the home plate umpire he yelled, ‘f— you.’ So, the home plate umpire ejected him, and understandably so. Donaldson argued, ‘I wasn’t talking to you.’ But at the time that he did it, he was right in [Basner’s] direction.”
Donaldson and Basner have little history with each other, if any at all. But during that first inning at-bat, there was some discussion at the plate between the two.
The first pitch of the at-bat from Twins starter Pat Dean, a fastball at Donaldson’s knees, was called a ball. According to Donaldson, someone in the Twins dugout began giving it to Basner over the call, saying, “Hey, that’s not down.” Two pitches later, Dean threw the same pitch, only this time it was a couple inches lower according to PitchFX data from Brooks Baseball. That pitch was called a strike.
“I said, ‘Hey, don’t allow them to chirp you and then change the zone. If it’s a strike, it’s a strike. I don’t care,’” Donaldson said. “It’s a borderline pitch. He had somebody in his ear and decided it was a strike. If it’s a strike, it’s a strike. Whatever. I was 2-0. Even when the strike’s called, I’m only 2-1.
“I got out on the next pitch. I’ve gotten out several times this year. It’s not like that out was that much more different than any of the other times I’ve gotten out.”
Discussions like this between batters and umpires—often between catchers and umpires, as well—are not uncommon. They happen in every game as players ask questions and seek information, trying to determine where the umpire’s strike zone begins and ends that day.
Veteran players like Donaldson know how to offer their thoughts on the strike zone and ask questions about calls in a quiet, undemonstrative manner. They understand how to carry on an open dialogue with an umpire without showing up the official.
Case in point: whether you were watching Saturday’s game on television or in the stands, you more than likely didn’t even notice that conversation taking place between Donaldson and Basner. It was incredibly ordinary.
And yet, Basner thought the Blue Jays third baseman was talking to him as he traded chirps with the Twins dugout, and ended Donaldson’s day in the first inning.
“It’s unfortunate. It was the beginning of the game; we needed him,” Gibbons said. “But one thing Josh does is he tells everybody the truth.”