Former AL MVP Josh Donaldson has retired after a 13-year career

Josh Donaldson, who won the American League Most Valuable Player Award during a 13-year career, announced his retirement on Monday.

Donaldson, 38, made the announcement on the website Podcast Former player Sean Casey.

Donaldson finished his career with 279 home runs and 1,310 hits, earning a reputation as someone who competed with excellence, without fear of offending his opponents. He had his best season in 2015 with Toronto, when he hit 41 homers and a league-leading 123 runs scored, while hitting an MLB-leading 122 runs. Donaldson received 23 of 30 first-place MVP votes, beating out Mike Trout for the award.

Donaldson has finished in the top 10 for league MVP four times.

Donaldson broke into professional ball as a catcher after the Cubs took him with the 48th pick in the 2007 draft from Auburn. The following summer, Donaldson was among the players the Athletics received in a trade for starting pitcher Rich Harden, and for several seasons, Donaldson struggled with the farm system.

In 2010, when he was 24, he hit .238 in Triple-A. He reached the major leagues for the first time late that season. But Donaldson switched to third base as his starting position in 2012, playing 71 games there in the majors, and with his combination of discipline and power, Donaldson began to emerge.

In 158 games at the A level in 2013, he had an OPS of .883. The perception of a lot of teams at the time was that the A's wouldn't consider trading him, but after the 2014 season, Oakland traded Donaldson — who had become more expensive by the year — to the Blue Jays for four players, including pitcher Kendall Grafman. It was among the first trades that began to cement then-Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos' reputation as a savvy dealmaker, because the following year, Donaldson won the Most Valuable Player Award.

Donaldson played for five teams over his final six seasons, as clubs sought to increase the discipline of their squads while also hoping to capitalize on Donaldson's intense style. But his candor has sometimes landed him in the headlines.

As a member of the Twins, he noticed Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole's low spin rate, suggesting that Cole benefited from the use of goop in pitching, and when Donaldson was traded to the Yankees, manager Aaron Boone met with both players. To settle things.

While with the Yankees, Donaldson was suspended one game by MLB for “inappropriate comments” after he called White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson “Jackie” in reference to baseball pioneer Jackie Robinson. Anderson took offense to the comment, calling it “disrespectful” and Donaldson later apologised.

Donaldson hit .142 in 33 games for the Yankees last season. After the Yankees let him go at the end of August, he signed with the Milwaukee Brewers and batted .169 with three homers in 17 games.

Over the course of his career, Donaldson played in nine different seasons, scoring five in 50 games.