Josh Donaldson gets ejected after hitting a home run, a breakdown
What Happened
On September 17, 2020, Twins third baseman Josh Donaldson got tossed during a 2-2 game against the White Sox, and the timing made it bizarre. He'd been jawing with the home plate umpire since the first inning over a high pitch called a strike. In the sixth, after a check-swing call he didn't like, the two kept barking even as Donaldson stepped in for the next pitch. Then he hit a go-ahead home run, kicked dirt onto home plate as he rounded the bases, and got ejected mid-trot. The wrinkle: he stumbled and may have missed the plate the first time, forcing him to backtrack and touch it before walking off.
Why This Matters
Getting ejected after a home run is rare enough. Getting ejected while still circling the bases is something almost nobody has seen. The dirt-kicking on home plate is the detail that sells it, a deliberate jab at an ump Donaldson had been feuding with all night. Here's the real stakes: if his stumble meant he genuinely missed the plate, and he'd already been tossed, the run technically might not count. He went back and touched it, which kept the homer on the board for a 3-2 Twins lead. The whole thing fit Donaldson's reputation as a hothead who doesn't back down. In a shortened 2020 season where every game mattered for seeding, picking a fight with the umpire over balls and strikes was the kind of self-inflicted distraction a contender didn't need.
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Key Moments
Who / What Is Involved
Players: Josh Donaldson.
Key Terms Mentioned
Full Transcript
Click timestamps to jump to that momentthis is a pretty fun one Josh Donaldson
gets ejected after hitting a home run
it's brought to you by draftkings that
pitch in the first
inning he didn't like the call there you
can see him saying don't even argue
hold it in don't think about it don't
even think about it
but yeah it was pretty high it never
came down called it a strike jd's not
happy
cuts to the sixth inning 2-2 game
he wants to go yard he wants to break
the tie here he's got a 2-0 count
find the pitch and hit it not your pitch
okay checks his swing
ump calls it a strike he wants to know
hey did you call that on the pitch or
did you call that on my swing
ump doesn't like that he asked that he
says i'm asking you if it was the pitch
um starts barking back and forth jd hits
him with a yeah yeah
yeah rocco's gonna come out and be like
yo
let's stop talking in between at bats i
don't want him to get thrown out before
this that bat is over i don't want him
to get thrown out before the game's over
he gets one of those wishes
he gets the at-bat and a home run comes
with it
bam three to two twins they gonna lose
this game watch the umpire
just stare him down after he hits the
home run a little interesting he doesn't
like him
now jt is gonna do his home run trot
never seen this before and uh just
dirtying
the plate on his way home to cause a
great big mess
for the umpire now he does kind of
stumble and he thinks he didn't touch
home plate
and if he didn't touch home plate that
umpire's surely going to call them out
because they're in a petty off at this
point so he has to go
backwards and touch it uh and then
we have hot mics here so just listening
i mean i shouldn't be laughing but i
mean
i've never seen that before and then
josh getting his money's worth as he
crossed home plate
and there you have it Josh Donaldson got
ejected
while in home run trot if he didn't
touch home plate
that first time then he got ejected
before he finished his home run trial
which is just wild
this was brought to you by draftkings go
to draftkings use promo code john boy
pick up Josh Donaldson use him in day
games his numbers on the year aren't
amazing but in day games he's got one
dot
ops so that's fantastic and yeah i just
never seen it like this
it's it's as petty as it absolutely gets
especially with the thumbs up
at the end they're like yeah you are a
big man too
all right