White Sox’s Tim Anderson breaks silence after MLB punishes Yankees’ Josh Donaldson

After a weekend of chaos and turmoil between the Yankees and White Sox which culminated in a bench clearing incident, Chicago’s short stop has finally broken his silence about the ‘joke’ that caused it all.

White Sox’s Tim Anderson breaks silence

According to the comments he made on Tuesday, White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson stated that there was no inside joke between himself and New York Yankees third baseman Josh Donaldson. Anderson’s statement was of course in reference to Donaldson calling him “Jackie” during their weekend double header. Donaldson’s ‘joke’ was understood to be in reference to MLB legend Jackie Robinson who broke the color barrier by becoming the first African American to play in MLB.

Anderson, who was speaking for the first time since the league sanctioned Donaldson with a one-game suspension and an undisclosed fine said the two haven’t had any correspondence since the first time he called him “Jackie” back in 2019. “He did say that, and I told him we never have to talk again,” Anderson disclosed. “I don’t speak to you, you don’t speak to me, if that’s how you want to refer to me. I know, he knew exactly what he was doing because I already told him.” It should be noted that Anderson went on to state that he and Donaldson had no communique had no communique until they met again when Donaldson was playing for the Minnesota Twins. At the time Anderson seemingly had a hard slide into third base at which point the pair exchanged words. Then of course there is this past weekend, when once again the Yankees player referred to Anderson as “Jackie” once again.

What is Josh Donaldson’s side of the story?

For his part Josh Donaldson has maintained that his “Jackie” comment was in reference to a 2019 interview with Sports Illustrated in which Anderson described himself as “today’s Jackie Robinson” in how he’s “getting to a point where I need to change the game.” Donaldson went on to claim that he has “joked around” with Anderson before about the article. With that said, Donaldson’s own teammate and Yankees star Aaron Judge had a different view, saying that Donaldson had made “a mistake.” Where MLB itself is concerned, Donaldson’s comment was referred to as “disrespectful and in poor judgment” in the league’s official statement. Incidentally, Anderson was asked how he felt about Donaldson’s punishment to which he responded, “It’s out of my control, so I’m cool with whatever,” Anderson said. “I could care less about the suspension.”

The White Sox weigh in

Speaking on the contentious issue, White Sox general manager Rick Hahn was relatively non committal in his comments about Donaldson’s punishment. On the other hand, Hahn was quick to praise his team for the manner in which they responded to the incident both on and off the field of play. Even more so considering that the White Sox actually completed a series sweep of the Yankees the very next day, a feat which would surely have required immense focus and composure given the circumstances. “Tremendously proud of the way teammates coalesced around TA this weekend,” Hahn said. “The support that was shown both on the field and in the clubhouse was remarkable.”

Tim Anderson had the last laugh

In a moment of ‘poetic justice,’ it was actually Anderson’s three-run home run in Game 2 which brought Yankees stadium to a deathly quiet standstill. The All-Star shortstop then proceeded to take a slow triumphant jog around the bases as fans jeered and chanted “Jackie,” to which Anderson responded by putting his finger to his lips a gesture that clearly said ‘hush.’ Indeed, the White Sox player had been subjected to similar treatment all game and for each and every one of his at-bats. “It was pretty dope for me to shut them up,” Anderson said.

Anderson went on to indicate that to date he has had no contact with the Yankees franchise or Donaldson himself, which according to him is no problem. “I’m not looking for no friendship or relationship from that behalf,” he said. “I’m going to keep playing hard and being a great teammate.” The former first round pick also state that he had received and was appreciative of an immense amount of “love and support” from around the world of Baseball. Asked if he thought Donaldson had perhaps learned something having now been punished by the league, Anderson simply replied by saying, “I hope so.”