Liam Hendriks was teammates with Josh Donaldson in Toronto and apparently, he did not enjoy the experience.
Josh Donaldson has stolen the headlines this week with his antics while visiting Chicago. First, he hit a home run then shouted “no more sticky stuff” while crossing home plate. This prompted Lucas Gioltio to call him a “pest” among other things. The next day Donaldson claimed he confronted Giolito in the parking lot and proceeded to unload on the White Sox. He accused Lucas Giolito of cheating and bashed Ozzie Guillen for suggesting that the White Sox hit him with a pitch.
That night he was loudly booed when he came to the plate. He went 1-for-3 launching another home run in the first inning. However, the White Sox would get the last laugh, striking him out his next two at-bats and humiliating the Twins 13-3. After this week the White Sox have seen and heard enough of Josh Donaldson. It is a feeling that Liam Hendriks knows all too well.
Liam Hendriks had a front-row seat to the Josh Donaldson show in 2015 when the two were teammates on the Toronto Blue Jays. Donaldson was phenomenal on the field that season. He took home American League MVP and spearheaded the franchise’s trip to the ALCS. But apparently, he was a headache to deal with in the locker room.
“Playing with Donaldson,” the closer told the media on Thursday, “I am not a Donaldson fan. On the field, one of the greatest. You want him on the team behind you. But I saw behind the curtains too much, and I’m not a fan.”
Hendriks is not alone in this assessment. In 2017 a player profile said that his personality “turned many teammates into enemies.”
With how outspoken he has been about pitchers using “sticky stuff” it would not be surprising if that was the case this year. The majority of pitchers use something to help them grip the ball. Chances are at least one of the members of the Twins pitching staff did the same. They can’t be thrilled by his comments. Donaldson’s comments about Giolito certainly did not thrill the White Sox.
“It didn’t go unnoticed. It definitely fires you up,” Yasmani Grandal said after hitting two home runs in Wednesday night’s win. “If anything, thanks to him for kind of getting us awakened a little bit.”
Hendriks, who is no stranger to showing emotion on the mound, took exception to the way Donaldson acted as well. He had this to say in reference to Donaldson’s post-home run celebration.
“I’m all for showing emotions. If he does this every pitch? Screw it, I don’t care. If he did this as a one-off, I may have an issue with it. But if he does this every time, look, you’re entitled to do what you want.
“I’m going to scream. If I strike him out, that’s what’s going to happen. But I do it on every pitch, rather than just a one-off thing to make a point of who I’m talking to.”
“And then I also don’t like the point of, ‘OK, why did you go to the media?’ to Gio, and then the next day he’s calling him out and saying, ‘I said it to his face.’ No, you didn’t. We have witnesses.
“I have no problems with showing emotions,” Hendriks added. “But at the end of the day, don’t say one thing in private and tout another thing in the media, and that’s what he has been doing.”
One thing is clear. The White Sox do not like Josh Donaldson. But he signed a multi-year deal so they will be getting a lot more of him over the course of the next few seasons. But Donaldson would not have it any other way.
“You are really not supposed to like me being on the opposing team,” Donaldson said in response to Lucas Giolito calling him a pest. “I’m fine with that.”
