Josh Donaldson

Joshua Adam Donaldson (born December 8, 1985) is an American former professional baseball third baseman.

In his 13-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, he played for the Oakland Athletics, Toronto Blue Jays, Cleveland Indians, Atlanta Braves, Minnesota Twins, New York Yankees, and Milwaukee Brewers.

During his freshman season in 2005, Donaldson started 39 games at third base, hitting .294 with seven home runs, and also began learning to play catcher.

In his sophomore season, Donaldson hit .276 and led the team with ten home runs; he also threw out 15 of 38 base stealers and had seven pickoffs.

In the summer of 2006, Donaldson played for the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod Baseball League where he was an All-Star and hit .302.

The Chicago Cubs drafted Donaldson in the 2007 MLB draft after he had played college baseball at Auburn University.

In 2007, Donaldson was named a Louisville Slugger Preseason All-American.

The Chicago Cubs drafted Donaldson as a catcher in the first round (48th overall) of the 2007 Major League Baseball draft.

In his first minor league season Donaldson played 53 games for the Rookie Arizona League Cubs and Short Season-A Boise Hawks, batting a combined .335 with nine home runs and 25 RBIs.

He also walked more than he struck out, with 39 and 38 respectively.

In 2008, he played 63 games with the Class-A Peoria Chiefs, where he hit .217 with six home runs and 23 RBIs.

In July 2008, the Cubs traded Donaldson, Matt Murton, Eric Patterson, and Sean Gallagher to the Oakland Athletics for Rich Harden and Chad Gaudin.

He played 47 games with the Advanced-A Stockton Ports, where he batted .330 and had nine home runs and 39 RBIs.

Donaldson then played the entire 2009 season with the Double-A Midland RockHounds, and recorded a batting average of .270 with nine home runs and 91 RBIs.

He made his MLB debut with the Athletics in 2010 as a catcher, progressing with the team, switching positions to third base, and eventually becoming an All-Star in the 2014 MLB season.

Donaldson was called up to the majors for the first time on April 30, 2010, filling in for injured catcher Kurt Suzuki.

He made his debut that night as a pinch hitter, and struck out.

The next day, he recorded his first major league hit, a two-run home run on the first pitch by Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Dana Eveland.

In 14 games played during the 2010 season, Donaldson made 34 plate appearances and recorded five hits.

After returning to the minor leagues, he spent the season with the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats and hit .238 with 18 home runs and 67 RBIs for the season.

Donaldson played the entire 2011 season in Sacramento, improving his average to .261, and hit 17 home runs and 70 RBIs.

Donaldson officially converted to third base from catching in the beginning of the 2012 season during spring training.

He started the regular season as the everyday third baseman for the A's for the first half, but due to struggles he was sent to the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats for much of the season.

The A's recalled him in mid August after everyday third baseman Brandon Inge was placed on the 15-day disabled list with an injured arm.

Donaldson helped the A's into making the postseason, and finished the 2012 season with nine home runs, 33 RBIs and a .241 average.

Against Detroit Tigers reliever Brayan Villarreal, Donaldson hit his first career walk-off home run on April 12, 2013.

It was the A's first walk-off win in 2013.

Donaldson was traded to the Blue Jays after the 2014 season.

He was named as a starter to the 2015 MLB All-Star Game, earning the most fan votes obtained by a player in the process, and was voted the American League's Most Valuable Player for the 2015 MLB season.

Donaldson also won the Silver Slugger Award and led the American League in RBIs (runs batted in) and runs scored.

He was traded to the Indians in August 2018, and then signed a one-year contract with the Braves for 2019.

After a successful year with the Braves, Donaldson agreed to a four-year deal with the Twins, before being traded to the Yankees for the 2022 season.

After an injury-shortened season, the Yankees would release Donaldson on August 29, 2023.The Milwaukee Brewers would then sign Donaldson to a minor league contract on August 31, 2023.

He would then spend the rest of the 2023 season with the Brewers before retiring in March 2024.

Born in Pensacola, Florida, Donaldson attended Pace High School in Pace, Florida for his sophomore year and played varsity baseball, before his mother, Lisa, moved him to Faith Academy in Mobile, Alabama to reunite him with his friend, P. J. Walters, at the academy.

At Faith, Donaldson competed in football, basketball, and baseball.

As a shortstop and pitcher, Donaldson was the Alabama Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior, batting .515 on the season, and led Faith Academy to a state title.

Donaldson set four Faith Academy single-season records in baseball, hits (55), triples (6), doubles (21), and RBIs (54).

In football, Donaldson was a wide receiver, defensive back, and punter, setting a school record with 11 interceptions in one season as a senior.

Donaldson enrolled at Auburn University, where he played college baseball as a catcher and third baseman for the Auburn Tigers baseball team in the Southeastern Conference.