Not much Josh Donaldson does escapes the notice of the baseball world these days. That’s what happens when you’re a leading MVP candidate on a team attempting to break the longest playoff slump in the sport.
The Blue Jays’ third baseman is near the top of the leaderboards in virtually every offensive category leading MLB in both runs in RBI while ranking second in wins above replacement and third in home runs.
But for all of his accolades, Donaldson recently demonstrated that there may still be an aspect of his game that’s under-appreciated. His feats with the bat and the glove are well known, but the 29-year-old has also been making things happen with his legs.
He turned heads in the second inning on Wednesday deciding to tag up from third on a Troy Tulowitzki pop up to shallow right field and making it in safely with an unbelievable slide.
In the fifth he continued his excellent day on the bases by stretching a single into a double after reading Michael Brantley’s lackadaisical play in left field.
He also managed his first triple of the season earlier on the series on a play where he showed off his motor and intensity.
Donaldson is never going to be confused with Billy Hamilton, but he has run the bases aggressively and efficiently all season. He’s swiped only five bags, but he has not been caught in the act and has made only one out on the bases all year. For his career Donaldson has stolen 22 bases and only been caught three times for an impressive 88 percent success rate.
According to FanGraphs, Donaldson has been worth 3.2 runs on the bases, the 28th best total among 155 qualified batters. It is initially surprising to see him ranked in the top 20 percent of baserunners, but the way he goes about his business sheds light on the issue. While praising players’ hustle often descends into hyperbole, Donaldson is very clearly someone with an enormous effort level.
The most obvious example of this is how he explodes out of the batters box on every ground ball. At times he can help save his team an out this way. On the play below an errant throw plays a role in Donaldson reaching base, but he put himself in a position to make it to first safely by motoring down the line.
Even when he isn’t safe this dogged effort can make life very difficult for opposing fielders. In what looks like it should be a routine play Rays pitcher Matt Andriese has to turn on the jets to beat him to the bag.
As the season winds down Donaldson has put himself in the driver’s seat in the MVP race. Beyond the gaudy statistics, one of the biggest reasons why is the perception that he’s a complete player that can help his team both offensively and defensively. Although it is undoubtedly a secondary consideration, voters should also be crediting him for what he does on the bases.
Not that his candidacy needs any help.
