New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge backed up Josh Donaldson, but also said that he should learn from his mistake with Tim Anderson.
That’s the angle most of the Yankees seem to be taking. While Donaldson is their teammate, they acknowledge he did something wrong in this instance, as Anderson took offense to his ‘Jackie’ comment.
MLB responded thusly, suspending Donaldson for a game and fining him an undisclosed amount. Donaldson is expected to appeal.
Anderson, for what it’s worth, spoke out against Donaldson’s comments on Saturday but has since let his bat do the talking — he hit a three-run home run on Sunday night to help sweep a doubleheader in the Bronx.
And, sure, he may have aimed some expletives as a crowd which booed him constantly on national television.
Yankees: Aaron Judge thinks Josh Donaldson made a mistake
As Aaron Boone himself said on Sunday, Donaldson made an err in judgement. He apologized after Saturday’s game, but did so at the end of a statement with a casual “if that offended him.” Donaldson would be better served reaching out to Anderson directly for a private conversation when the time is right.
As for Judge, he spoke out on Monday night:
“It’s a tough one. Joke or not, I just don’t think it’s the right thing to do there, especially given the history, the series in Chicago. . … JD made a mistake, owned up to it, and now we’ve got to move on,” Judge said, per Bryan Hoch. “JD is a pro. So he talked to us and filled us in on what he was referring to, about I guess a 2019 interview that T.A. did. But still, I just don’t think it was the right move at all. But he got a suspension. Time to move on.”
Judge went on to call Anderson one of the best shortstops in baseball, which he is.
The only form of positivity we can get from this incident is to learn from it. In that sense, Judge is right.