USA TODAY International Edition
DONALDSON’S BITTERSWEET HOMECOMING
In Oakland with Jays, former A’s star finds old team shell of its former self
There were signs of change everywhere Josh Donaldson looked in his first trip back to the East Bay area since the Oakland Athletics traded him to the Toronto Blue Jays in the offseason.
His old No. 20 is now worn by outfielder Mark Canha, who also happens to occupy Donaldson’s former locker in the A’s clubhouse. The Oakland starting lineup Tuesday included just three of his former teammates.
Two new video boards sit atop the O. co Coliseum stands, making the much- derided facility seem a tad less antiquated. There’s even a new shortcut from San Francisco to Oakland, or so Donaldson’s cab driver claimed, making for a hellish two- hour ride to the ballpark.
But the biggest difference from the days when Donaldson starred as the A’s third baseman is their spot in the standings.
Oakland won two American League West titles and made the playoffs all three seasons when Donaldson was a regular. The club just climbed to fourth in the division with a 43- 51 record going into Tuesday, 10 games behind the Los Angeles Angels, and had spent 67 of the previous 70 days in last place.
That’s far from what Donaldson expected before the stunning Nov. 28 trade, which signaled the beginning of a series of moves that broke up that powerful outfit as general manager Billy Beane remade the club with young players yet again.
Donaldson, the leading votegetter in this year’s All- Star Game, said it took him two or three weeks to come to grips with the swap. “It was definitely hard,” he said. “There were definitely some emotions going on, because a lot of the guys who were here, we’d been through so much together, we kind of built what we thought was a core, some foundations. When you get traded … you’re definitely going to be hurt a little bit.”
Donaldson, 29, has questioned the wisdom of the A’s moves, though not as harshly as former teammate Yoenis Cespedes, who on his return to Oakland wondered aloud whether the club wanted to win.
As a player who developed into a major leaguer in the A’s organization, transforming himself from a minor league catcher to one of the game’s top third basemen, Donaldson’s reaction has been more wistful puzzlement than anger.
He was the first of four 2014 All- Stars the A’s traded in the offseason, followed by Jeff Samardzija, Derek Norris and Brandon Moss. As expected, they also didn’t try to re- sign Jon Lester, who had been acquired for Cespedes last July 31.
Though he knows less than half of the current Oakland roster, Donaldson said “my heart sort of fluttered a little bit” when he finally arrived at the Coliseum 2 ½ hours before the game, and he didn’t bother pretending this series would not be special.
“There’s no way I can treat it like another three games,” he said. “I have zero animosity about anything. I have very good feelings about being here. I want to be able to show the fans how I play again, just because they haven’t been able to see me in three or four months. I want them to continue to have good memories of me being here.”
The A’s players have missed him and couldn’t be blamed for holding a grudge against the club for trading an elite player under team control for four more years. Surrounded by a powerful lineup that leads the majors in runs scored, Donaldson is putting up MVP- worthy numbers with the Blue Jays, ranking in the league’s top five in home runs ( 22), RBI ( 62) and extra- base hits ( 44).
His replacement, Brett Lawrie — acquired as part of the package for Donaldson — has been a solid contributor but not nearly as productive, batting .280 with eight homers and 37 RBI. Lawrie exudes some of the hard- nosed intensity that made Donaldson a fan favorite and might someday win their favor in a way comparable to his predecessor.
He’s not in the same category as a player, though, and might never be. In many ways, Donaldson had the right combination of traits to succeed as an Athletic and capture the fans’ hearts.
“It takes a certain kind of guy to play here,” said injured A’s closer Sean Doolittle, who first played with Donaldson in the minors in 2008. “You have to have that edge. You have to have that fire and that intensity. He had plenty of it. That’s something he was known for, diving into the stands, tackling the bullpen mound on foul balls down there, screaming and yelling at people, always running his mouth.
“Never a dull moment with him around.”
No wonder they miss him.