Former American League MVP Josh Donaldson announced Monday that he is retiring after 12-plus big league seasons.
Donaldson, 38, made the announcement during an interview on “The Mayor’s Office with Sean Casey” podcast.
Donaldson struggled mightily last season as he batted .152 with 13 homers and 26 RBIs in 50 games while splitting time with the New York Yankees and Milwaukee Brewers. A calf injury in mid-July interrupted Donaldson’s season, and he signed with Milwaukee after being released by New York in late August.
“There was a time at the end of the season where I felt really good where I was at and I wanted to try and give it one more go,” Donaldson told Casey. “But being home with the family, getting married. Today’s a sad day but also happy day for me. I am going to announce my retirement from the game I’ve dedicated my entire life around.
“It’s sad because I’ll be not able to go out and play the game I love anymore. But it’s also very happy time I get to be around the family and take the next chapter in life.”
Donaldson, a three-time All-Star, won the MVP in 2015 as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays. He batted .297 and hit 41 homers and led the league in RBIs (123) and the majors in runs scored (122).
Donaldson finished fourth in AL MVP voting on two other occasions — in 2013 with the Oakland Athletics and 2016 with the Blue Jays. His All-Star appearances were with Oakland in 2014, followed by 2015-16 with Toronto.
Donaldson topped 30 homers four times but his MVP season in Toronto marked the lone 100-RBI campaign of his career. He won two Silver Slugger awards and finishes with 1,310 hits.
Donaldson batted .261 with 279 homers and 816 RBIs in 1,383 games with the A’s (2010, 2012-14), Blue Jays (2015-18), Cleveland (2018), the Atlanta Braves (2019), Minnesota Twins (2020-21), Yankees (2022-23) and Brewers (2023).
