Jason Donald (baseball)

Jason Thomas Donald (born September 4, 1984) is an American former professional baseball utility player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians.

Jason Donald
Donald with the Cleveland Indians
Shortstop / Second baseman
Born: (1984-09-04) September 4, 1984
Fresno, California, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
May 18, 2010, for the Cleveland Indians
Last MLB appearance
October 3, 2012, for the Cleveland Indians
MLB statistics
Batting average.257
Home runs7
Runs Batted In43
Teams
Medals
Men's baseball
Representing  United States
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2008 Beijing Team

Early life

Donald attended Buchanan High School in Clovis, California, where his father is the coach of the baseball team.[1] He played college baseball for the University of Arizona.[2] In 2004 and 2005, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod Baseball League, and was named a league all-star in 2005.[3][4][5][6]

Professional career

Philadelphia Phillies

Donald was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the third round (97th overall pick) of the 2006 MLB draft.[2] He was originally drafted by the Anaheim Angels in the 20th round of the 2003 MLB draft directly from high school, but chose not to sign.[7]

Donald was selected and participated in several All-Star games during the course of the 2008 season including the Eastern League All-Star game, and the premier event for minor leaguers, the MLB All-Star Futures Game (which in 2008 was played at Yankee Stadium).[8]

In 2009, Donald played nine games with the Gulf Coast League Phillies, going 6 for 26 (.231) before being assigned to the Lehigh Valley IronPigs of the International League. While with the Pigs, Jason had a .236 batting average with one home run over the course of 51 games.

On July 29, 2009, the Phillies traded Donald, along with Carlos Carrasco, Lou Marson, and Jason Knapp to the Cleveland Indians for Cliff Lee and Ben Francisco.[9]

Cleveland Indians

On May 18, 2010, replacing injured Cleveland Indians shortstop Asdrúbal Cabrera, Donald played against the Tampa Bay Rays and recorded his first major league hit on his first plate appearance. In his second at bat, he singled to right field against Rays starter David Price to begin his major league career 2-for-2. He then walked in his third at bat.[10]

On June 2, 2010, Donald was the 27th batter faced by Armando Galarraga, who was one out away from pitching a perfect game. Donald hit a ground ball to the right side of first baseman Miguel Cabrera, who fielded the ball cleanly and tossed the ball to Galarraga, who was covering first base. First base umpire Jim Joyce called Donald safe, but replay showed that the throw beat Donald by one step.

Post-MLB career

On December 11, 2012, Donald was traded to the Cincinnati Reds in a three-team deal that also involved the Arizona Diamondbacks. Shin-Soo Choo went with Donald to Cincinnati. Cleveland acquired Drew Stubbs from the Reds and Trevor Bauer, Matt Albers and Bryan Shaw from the Diamondbacks. Arizona received Lars Anderson and Tony Sipp from the Indians and Didi Gregorius from the Reds.[11]

Donald signed a minor league deal with the Kansas City Royals on December 28, 2013.[12][13]

On May 28, 2014, Donald was traded to the Texas Rangers for cash considerations. He became a free agent after the 2014 season.[14]

Olympics

Donald and Indians backup catcher Lou Marson were selected to the United States national baseball team. Donald helped lead the United States to a bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Donald homered in the bronze medal game and led the team at the games in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. Donald batted .381 for the Games.[8]

Awards and honors

In 2008, Donald received the Arizona Fall League's Dernell Stenson Sportsmanship Award.[15]

References
  1. Hoynes, Paul (May 18, 2010). "Cleveland Indians rookie Jason Donald has a good big-league debut, but Tampa Bay Rays beat Tribe". Cleveland Plain Dealer. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
  2. Boogaard, Andy (March 25, 2014). "Former Buchanan star Jason Donald of Royals keeps chasing MLB dream". Fresno Bee. Archived from the original on March 29, 2014. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
  3. "Major League Baseball Players From the Cape Cod League" (PDF). capecodbaseball.org. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  4. "2004 Cotuit Kettleers". thebaseballcube.com. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  5. "2005 Cotuit Kettleers". thebaseballcube.com. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  6. "CCBL West All-Star Roster". capecodbaseball.org. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  7. "Jason Donald Selected by Philadelphia". University of Arizona. June 6, 2006. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
  8. Fitzenberger, Jennifer (May 18, 2010). "Jason Donald Makes MLB Debut". University of Arizona. Archived from the original on March 30, 2014. Retrieved March 30, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  9. Castrovince, Anthony (29 July 2009). "Lee, Francisco traded to Phillies". MLB.com. Archived from the original on 2 March 2012. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
  10. "Jason Donald 2010 Batting Gamelogs". Baseball Reference. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
  11. Knobler, Danny (December 11, 2012). "Reds acquire Choo from Indians in three-team deal". CBS Sports. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
  12. McCalvy, Adam (December 28, 2013). "Royals sign Donald, Mesa to Minor League deals". MLB.com. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
  13. "Royals sign Jason Donald, Melky Mesa to minor-league deals". Kansas City Star. December 28, 2013. Archived from the original on February 7, 2014. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
  14. "Rangers to Acquire Jason Donald from Royals".
  15. Winston, Lisa (November 19, 2008). "Donald garners 2008 Stenson award". MLB.com. Retrieved August 20, 2012.
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