Minnesota Twins slugger Josh Donaldson was furious with the umpires after a sixth inning strike call that was clearly outside of the zone. Donaldson expressed his displeasure, then settled back in against Chicago White Sox pitcher Reynaldo López.
On the very next pitch, Donaldson blasted a home run, and then kicked dirt over home plate while arguing with the umpire. He was promptly ejected for that.
Can you remember a player ever getting ejected while hitting a home run?
Josh Donaldson did not appreciate a strike call, 2 pitches later he hit a HR and got ejected crossing home plate pic.twitter.com/CitbuyMGZa
— Stu Motown #BlackLivesMatter (@cjzero) September 17, 2020
Kicking dirt on home plate when he crossed it wasn’t enough. He had to go back to kick more dirt and tell the ump to [get lost]. Just wonderful in every way.
Let’s be clear about a few things.
- Was Donaldson right that the umpire made an awful call on the previous pitch? Yes.
- Is this absolutely hilarious? Yes.
- Could his pettiness hurt his team as they play the White Sox for the lead in the AL Central? Of course.
Here’s another way to put it:
I’m a fan of everything Josh Donaldson just did. Was cheated on a terrible call by the ump, murdered the next pitch (looked like he said “get the f*ck outta here”) and then talked sh*t when he crosses home plate. Ump was petty to throw him out but as a #WhiteSox fan I’ll take it.
— Herb Lawrence (@Ecnerwal23) September 17, 2020
White Sox vs. Twins games this year have been incredibly tense as the two teams battle for the division. This is another memorable moment.