NEW YORK — Contrary to what Josh Donaldson said, Tim Anderson did not think the “Jackie” comment was funny in 2019, either.
“I told him, we never have to talk again,” Anderson told reporters in Chicago of that prior interaction before the White Sox’s Tuesday night game against the Red Sox. “I won’t speak to you, you won’t speak to me, if that’s how you’re going to refer to me.
“I knew he knew exactly what he was doing.”
Anderson’s response comes three days after Donaldson explained why he said “What’s up Jackie?” to the White Sox shortstop at Yankee Stadium on Saturday.
“In 2019, he came out with the interview saying that he’s the new Jackie Robinson of baseball,” Donaldson explained after Saturday’s game, which was marred by his “Jackie” taunt and sparked a benches-clearing incident. “He’s gonna bring back fun to the game. Right? And in 2019 when I played for Atlanta we actually joked about that [in] the game. I don’t know what’s changed from [then] ... and I’ve said it to him in years past, not in any manner, [other] than just joking around for the fact that he calls himself Jackie Robinson.”
Since Saturday, however, Donaldson, who was suspended one game by the league for his comment, is still the only one to find his own joke funny.
Yankee manager Aaron Boone immediately denounced his third baseman.
“When I first heard the name Jackie, I was really taken aback,” Boone said in the aftermath on Sunday. “Frankly, I was upset about it myself.”
Clubhouse leader Aaron Judge doubled down on his stance even after hearing Donaldson’s explanation.
“I just don’t think it was the right move at all,” the Yankee slugger said.
