“One of the greatest scandals”: Yankees’ Josh Donaldson gets caught cheating at the plate
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Josh Donaldson
The 36-year-old Yankees star Josh Donaldson is a highly competitive guy who might have turned to other means in order to make himself victorious. To justify the same claim, it seems like one peculiar stat signifies that Donaldson is cheating on the fastballs, leaving him exposed to off-speed stuff. Interestingly, after posting a .408 wOBA against heaters in his career, that has significantly dropped all the way down to .342 this season.
Moreover, Donaldson has majorly struggled to lay off inside pitches. These spoken-off pitches are the ones that any major player just can’t hit with authority. Talking about more precise facts, Donaldson hasn’t seen more fastballs than any other season except 2014, even more changeups than any season but his rookie season. Safe to say, his batted ball data has been a huge step backwards since his return on June 3rd.
Donaldson’s slash line has only gotten worse, .200/.262/.316, a team-worst .578 OPS in that stretch. To simplify the problem for this 36-year-old is not when the ball is put in play but more so with his decision to take the bat swings. Furthermore, he is swinging at more pitches out of the zone, resulting in making contact less frequently when he does the same.
Has Josh Donaldson delivered on his expectations for the New York Yankees?
When the Yankees acquired Josh as part of the Gary Sanchez trade with the Twins, the primary expectation was for the 36-year-old to connect and hit. Well, these are just the basic expectations when knowing that this particular player has racked up 1,179 knocks and 251 home runs entering the 2022 season.
“I feel like it’s been a process,” Josh Donaldson said. “As I mentioned earlier, just trying to work on some setup changes to help me feel like I’m getting in my legs a little bit more and able to stay in my legs throughout my swing a little bit more. So whenever I do get some pitches to hit, I’m not missing and fouling them off and I’m able to go hit it pretty hard in the air.”
Also Read: “Should have never said that I tested positive”: Chris Bassitt frustrated by MLB COVID-19 protocols
The former MVP did not have the most optimistic start to this season. To elaborate upon the same, Josh was hitting .215/.342/.344 over his first 27 games with just two home runs and seven RBI. But things have finally started to work in his favour, at least for now, he has been able to deliver on the long-desired expectations of manager Boone.
After going 2-for-5 with a home run in the latest beatdown of the Pirates, Josh Donaldson played a key role in the Yankees’ series-opening victory over the Red Sox.
Also Read: “Let’s go NY baby”: New York Yankees shut Boston with a bang, hit 3 grand slams in 2 games
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Yagya Bhargava
(611 Articles Published)