Minnesota Twins third baseman Josh Donaldson hit a two-run homer off Chicago White Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito on Tuesday night, and appeared to say “Hand’s not sticky anymore; it’s not sticky anymore” while crossing home plate. That’s in reference to Major League Baseball’s recent foreign substance ban, so Donaldson basically implied that Giolito can’t use sticky substances any longer and is losing effectiveness as a result.
And during the postgame press conference, Giolito went off, referring to to Donaldson as “classless” and a “fucking pest.” Giolito also said, “If you’re going to talk shit, talk shit to my face.”
Well, Donaldson addressed the situation before Wednesday night’s game, and said that he and Giolito had a chat about all this in the parking lot late on Tuesday night. Donaldson claims he said, “I’m in your face, what do you have to say about that?” Giolito, according to Donaldson, “didn’t have a response” to that line.
Here is a tiny snippet of Josh Donaldson's reaction to Lucas Giolito calling his move after last night's HR classless. The two had a chat in the parking lot late last night. Link includes Donaldson's long epic response to the situation. #MNTwins #WhiteSoxhttps://t.co/xQrIOY9BeT pic.twitter.com/GM5U4DpZUc
— KSTPSports (@KSTPSports) June 30, 2021
Josh Donaldson responds to Lucas Giolito calling his comments from last night "classless" by guessing that Giolito probably wouldn't have had a problem with what he said if he hadn't been using "sticky stuff" prior to the crackdown.
— Vinnie Duber (@VinnieDuber) June 30, 2021
“If we’re going to talk about class, what side are you going to choose? Are you going to take the side of somebody who’s playing the game fair? Or are you going to take the side of someone who probably cheated?”
— Vinnie Duber (@VinnieDuber) June 30, 2021
Donaldson on his conversation with Giolito, which he says took place in parking lot:
"He said he thought it was annoying. I said, 'So what? I'm on the opposing team. What do you care about me? I'm in your face, what do you have to say about that?' And he didn't have a response."
— Vinnie Duber (@VinnieDuber) June 30, 2021
“My intention was not to show up Lucas Giolito, but he took it that way. … He has a problem with what he said on the field, and I have a problem with what he has to say in the Zoom room. And that’s OK. We’re not supposed to like each other. He’s on another team.”
— Vinnie Duber (@VinnieDuber) June 30, 2021
Then came Wednesday night’s game. And in the first inning, Donaldson blasted another dinger, before getting a long look at it and bat-flipping. He heard it from White Sox fans as he rounded the bases.
Josh Donaldson hits an absolute bomb home run in his first at bat of the night as he circles the bases to boos and "you suck" chants from White Sox fans pic.twitter.com/iGJnIF2jGJ
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) July 1, 2021
Dylan Cease won the battle with a strikeout in the third inning and stared down Donaldson before strutting off the mound.
Dylan dealin. #WhiteSox pic.twitter.com/yn3lIrAQbR
— Ian Eskridge (@dailywhitesox) July 1, 2021
So, this Donaldson vs White Sox feud is certainly entertaining and doesn’t appear to be going away soon.
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.