Booing Josh Donaldson? For or Against

[strumdatjag]

The booing hasn’t reached AJ levels yet, but I have heard a smattering of boos when Josh Donaldson was introduced at Target Field during the last two games. 
Josh can be an abrasive guy, as evidenced by more than just the the “sticky stuff” controversy last year with Gerrit Cole, and this year’s dust-up and bench clearing brawl related to mocking the Chi-Sox’s Tim Anderson by calling him “Jackie” (in a Sports Illustrated interview, Tim Anderson may have made a mockable comment, when he referred to himself as “Today’s Jackie Robinson” - but that interview was FIVE YEARS AGO).  
Those who are booing also might mention that Josh was injured too much (not his fault) and didn’t produce to the level of his big contract (when he played, his hitting and especially his fielding were pretty good in my opinion).  
Josh Donaldson didn’t leave here and give nasty parting shots to Minnesota, the Twins, his teammates nor the fans.  He was traded and made the obligatory, gracious remarks about his former team. 
This wasn’t like Bert Blyleven who gave a “bad gesture” to Twins fans in his last appearance before being traded to Texas.  As a borderline juvenile delinquent, I went to Bert’s first Texas start against us in order to boo him. So - I’m not immune from booing a former Twin.    Nevertheless, I did not throw batteries at Knobbie.
So I vote that Josh Donaldson, despite his acerbic personality, is not deserving of being singled out for special booing by the Twins faithful at Target Field.  
If you disagree, tell us why Josh should be singled out.  
I don’t think Twins who are traded need to take out a full page ad thanking the fans like Corey Koskie.  But that was nice. 
 

[Richie the Rally Goat]

“Acerbic” is good word, one I don’t use is my day-to-day often enough.

im not a big fan of booing players in general. They’re allowed opinions just like the rest of us.

edit to add: I forgot about the Anderson thing. Still not a fan of booing players, but that particular issue isn’t as excusable as just being a jerk.

[farmerguychris]

I vote no Booo.  I don't think he really demonstrated the jerk persona that he has a reputation for while in MN.  Obviously we're not in the clubhouse, and players such as Kepler have indicated the departure of Donaldson may have played a factor in getting a better clubhouse this year.  But overall, we paid him a lot of money, we got fair value for the money spent, and I  kind of liked his fire he sometimes brought to a team with a pretty laid back mentality (offering to fight in the parking lot, etc).

[MMMordabito]

They should boo Aaron Judge instead, only so they drown out the Yankee fans at Target Field chanting "MVP".  

[Unwinder]

I think that MOST of the disdain for Donaldson among Twins fans is based on the unproven but satisfying narrative that he was bad for the team's chemistry and can be blamed for the 2021 season, and the "Jackie" comment makes it more OK to boo him than someone like Colome or even Simmons. I hope Donaldson learns to think before opening his mouth, and wish him the best wherever he lands after the Yankees (which could be retirement I guess).

[Mike Sixel]

No reason to boo him, other than his potentially racist comments....

[Longdistancetwins]

1 hour ago, strumdatjag said:

The booing hasn’t reached AJ levels yet, but I have heard a smattering of boos when Josh Donaldson was introduced at Target Field during the last two games. 
Josh can be an abrasive guy, as evidenced by more than just the the “sticky stuff” controversy last year with Gerrit Cole, and this year’s dust-up and bench clearing brawl related to mocking the Chi-Sox’s Tim Anderson by calling him “Jackie” (in a Sports Illustrated interview, Tim Anderson may have made a mockable comment, when he referred to himself as “Today’s Jackie Robinson” - but that interview was FIVE YEARS AGO).  
Those who are booing also might mention that Josh was injured too much (not his fault) and didn’t produce to the level of his big contract (when he played, his hitting and especially his fielding were pretty good in my opinion).  
Josh Donaldson didn’t leave here and give nasty parting shots to Minnesota, the Twins, his teammates nor the fans.  He was traded and made the obligatory, gracious remarks about his former team. 
This wasn’t like Bert Blyleven who gave a “bad gesture” to Twins fans in his last appearance before being traded to Texas.  As a borderline juvenile delinquent, I went to Bert’s first Texas start against us in order to boo him. So - I’m not immune from booing a former Twin.    Nevertheless, I did not throw batteries at Knobbie.
So I vote that Josh Donaldson, despite his acerbic personality, is not deserving of being singled out for special booing by the Twins faithful at Target Field.  
If you disagree, tell us why Josh should be singled out.  
I don’t think Twins who are traded need to take out a full page ad thanking the fans like Corey Koskie.  But that was nice. 
 

Thanks for sharing your story about Bert.  Interesting that some of these booed characters end up in the broadcast booth:  Bert, AJ, A-Rod.  

[bunsen82]

Honestly we should be cheering Donaldson.  He was the first big time player that gave management a shot and showed big time players can come to Minnesota.  Without Donaldson,  we never try to clear money and possibly never get Correa.   With Donaldson/Correa we are firmly in the conversation with big time free agents in the future.  We won't overpay but we will give fair deals for these individuals.  Donaldson needs to calm down on his antics,  but ultimately he did everything for the Twins he could have and the Twins are better off than they were to signing the contract with him.  Those last 2 years always had the possibility of being painful.  

[USAFChief]

I don't understand why anyone would boo Donaldson. 

 

[nicksaviking]

I don't boo players.

I mean it sounds like plenty of ex and current teammates don't like them, so they should feel free to boo from the dugouts I suppose.

[Squirrel]

Ugh … no. No booing.

[ashbury]

Boo on the booing.

[tony&rodney]

Agree with all of those who are opposed to booing. The world needs positives.

[Otto von Ballpark]

[tarheeltwinsfan]

I am glad Josh Donaldson is not a Twin and is a member of the evil empire, however I do not see any reason to boo the man.  I just am not a fan of booing at a sporting event. However,  since I am a lifelong Twins fan, I have "boo-hoo'ed" at many games.

[Doctor Gast]

Seems very petty. Donaldson hasn't done anything against the Twins.

[Musk21]

I always hated when Twins fans booed AJ.  He had been a valued member of those early '00's teams and was traded to make room for Mauer.  Felt that he deserved to be cheered for his contributions in helping to bring us from the brink of contraction back into relevance and post-season contention.

Now I'm not a huge Donaldson fan per se, but he did choose to sign with us as a FA and played hard here. And we traded him away...So not sure why he deserves a healthy smattering of boos from Twins fans.

[LVTwinsfan]

On 6/9/2022 at 7:47 AM, strumdatjag said:

The booing hasn’t reached AJ levels yet, but I have heard a smattering of boos when Josh Donaldson was introduced at Target Field during the last two games. 
Josh can be an abrasive guy, as evidenced by more than just the the “sticky stuff” controversy last year with Gerrit Cole, and this year’s dust-up and bench clearing brawl related to mocking the Chi-Sox’s Tim Anderson by calling him “Jackie” (in a Sports Illustrated interview, Tim Anderson may have made a mockable comment, when he referred to himself as “Today’s Jackie Robinson” - but that interview was FIVE YEARS AGO).  
Those who are booing also might mention that Josh was injured too much (not his fault) and didn’t produce to the level of his big contract (when he played, his hitting and especially his fielding were pretty good in my opinion).  
Josh Donaldson didn’t leave here and give nasty parting shots to Minnesota, the Twins, his teammates nor the fans.  He was traded and made the obligatory, gracious remarks about his former team. 
This wasn’t like Bert Blyleven who gave a “bad gesture” to Twins fans in his last appearance before being traded to Texas.  As a borderline juvenile delinquent, I went to Bert’s first Texas start against us in order to boo him. So - I’m not immune from booing a former Twin.    Nevertheless, I did not throw batteries at Knobbie.
So I vote that Josh Donaldson, despite his acerbic personality, is not deserving of being singled out for special booing by the Twins faithful at Target Field.  
If you disagree, tell us why Josh should be singled out.  
I don’t think Twins who are traded need to take out a full page ad thanking the fans like Corey Koskie.  But that was nice. 
 

I agree that Tim Anderson may have opened himself up to the mockery. I think that Donaldson went too far with it though, it seems he was taking advantage of an opportunity.  I’m fine just letting it go though, Everybody makes mistakes, absolutely everybody, it seems the boo birds are also taking advantage of an opportunity, people like to point their fingers at the bad guy. I guess it makes them feel like they are good.

[Squirrel]

23 minutes ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

I just am not a fan of booing at a sporting event

I boo umpires after a bad call like the one last night. Miranda’s foot was CLEARLY touching the bag, although I booed from home, not TF, but I likely would have if I were there

[Unwinder]

3 hours ago, Richie the Rally Goat said:

im not a big fan of booing players in general. They’re allowed opinions just like the rest of us.

To be fair, people who boo players are also expressing their opinions.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

20 minutes ago, Unwinder said:

To be fair, people who boo players are also expressing their opinions.

Sure, just like we’re expressing our opinions here. It’s not the what, it’s the how

[Craig Arko]

I don’t boo anybody. I’m just very particular about who, or what, I’ll cheer for. 

[rwilfong86]

Booing players in general seems kinda pointless. 

[PopRiveter]

On 6/9/2022 at 10:31 AM, Mike Sixel said:

No reason to boo him, other than his potentially racist comments....

I don't think booing players is about making a serious statement. It's just some of the fun of going to a game, just like cheering.

I booed Donaldson when he was a Twin. I find him to be a truly unlikeable personality. That said, I can't find any angle from which his comment to Tim Anderson qualifies as racist.

If anyone is guilty of anything, it was for minimizing Robinson's mammoth contribution to the integration of baseball. That  happened when Tim Anderson named himself "Today's Jackie Robinson." It's pretty mild to gently poke fun at him by calling him "Jackie." 

Josh is an abrasive person who somehow got in trouble for one of his more innocuous statements. He is a fine ambassodor for the evil abomination that is the NY Yankees...

...and I'll keep booing him, thank you.

[insagt1]

Trades are a part of the fabric of baseball. He was traded. He didn't 'want out'.. he's a Yankee now so by definition we have to intensely dislike him like we do all who wear the pinstripes and humiliate the Twins every year. I don't boo them..I just can't stand the Yankees!

[Brock Beauchamp]

I almost never boo except for multiple throws to first base to hold a runner because I find booing that amusing.

So no, I would definitely not boo Donaldson. He didn’t even do anything other than being a perennial red ass. 

[Bigfork Twins Guy]

I do dislike how Josh has acted in the past but he is not the one who requested a trade so no need to boo him.  Why do we boo X-players who did nothing against the Twins?

[Rosterman]

We are waaaaay too nice in Minnesota.

Boy, the Dodger fans in the stands got on Correa during that two-game series here. Embarrassing so in OUR HOME.

Usually there is a "bad guy" on most teams you play competitively. You can yell, scream, and some fans go too far.

What's worse is when you start booing your own players...........

[Nine of twelve]

I suppose there are acceptable reasons to boo Donaldson, but they have little to nothing to do with his performance as a Twin. (Same with AJ, by the way.)

[DJL44]

Twins fans are allowed to boo any Yankee at any time