It Just Keeps Going: Donaldson Arrives at Camp and 7th Inning Talk
Ted Berg, of USA Today, is in Dunedin and asked a few of the key players about that insane 7th inning of Game 5 in the ALDS. There was a bit of a mixed reaction.
Berg asked Bautista, who is over it.
Over. It.
Bautista's reaction also inspired the great title for the piece:
Jose Bautista told me I would write whatever I want about the insane ALDS Game 5, so I did.
Bautista also, hilariously, took the opportunity to rip into the media (likely in response to the swirl of media speculation after Bautista's comments on Monday and the rumored numbers that were released on Tuesday.)
If it was just about any other person who pointed out how many followers they had, I'd roll my eyes. (And yeah, people do that as a way to point out how important they are.) But I'm ok with Bautista doing it, maybe because he has demonstrated, time and again, just how much he rules in other ways. Of course he has more followers than most people. People should follow him. Of course they should.
Bautista uses Twitter in a way that is very open. He follows over half a million people. He once DM'd me when I sent him something about baseball education initiatives in Latin America. He owns his voice.
His comment also made me think about how some of the big media guys hate
The Player's Tribune
because the format allows the athlete a forum to talk about what they want and to control the message. If someone wants to announce their retirement, they no longer need to do that through the big baseball writers. Bautista doesn't have anything left to say about the bat flip because he's said it, in his own words here
. Two other key players in that inning did want to talk. Aaron Sanchez was on the mound when Rougned Odor scampered home after the ball ricocheted off Choo's bat. Given how Sanchez describes how he felt and what was going through his mind, it's pretty amazing he was able to do anything, let alone shut down the Rangers. I'd forgotten he went back out after Bautista hit his homer.
Berg asked Russell Martin about it, too. He asked if Martin had ever seen a return throw hit a bat like that.
Charles Barkley once said you never want to make a play in the playoffs that's so bad that they play it every year. And that probably would've been the case if they had lost that game.
"I've never gotten that pumped, ever, in any sport." That's a pretty good description. Let's run with that.
Josh Donaldson arrived in camp today full of excellent quips. I've also decided he wore his cap backwards in solidarity with Yoenis Cespedes.
.@BringerOfRain20: “I’m very excited to be back with the boys and cause some trouble.”https://t.co/WPKZmeclWp
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) February 25, 2016
Ever since Josh Donaldson braided his hair like Ragnar Lothbrook, I see everything he does in the context of Vikings.
Back with the boys and cause some trouble =
Donaldson praised the lineup and said he felt sorry for opposing pitchers:
(Quote via Arden Zwelling on Twitter)
"Tulo's....I mean...Jesus. It just keeps going, you know what I mean?"
That's just gold.
It's also very close to calling Tulo "Jesus."
Also, "no one talks about Russell"? I talk about Russell, Josh. I do.
I also just want to quell the talk about Bautista being "negative" and Donaldson showing up as the "new leader", that there was some kind of torch passing happening.
A team can have more than one leader. They did last year. And, of course, Donaldson is happy, he is the reigning MVP who has already settled his contract.
And as Donaldson himself pointed out, it's a lineup. Donaldson hit like a maniac in 2015, but having Bautista behind him helps a ton. There is room for both and both are needed.
Also, ornery Bautista is rich for content creation. Baseball is back.