Blue Jays star Josh Donaldson sets record straight after college coach rips him

So far this spring Blue Jays third baseman and former AL MVP Josh Donaldson has not played in a single Grapefruit League game. He’s nursing a calf injury and, understandably, the club doesn’t want to push it and cause an even more serious injury.

For the time being, Donaldson is working out and hitting on the side. On Friday he played in a minor league game and hit a home run, but because doctors have not yet cleared him to run, Donaldson simply walked back to the dugout rather than run around the bases. Here’s the video:

Minor league games are very informal, obviously. Not only does Donaldson not have to run the bases after hitting a home run, the Blue Jays could also let him hit every inning to make sure he gets his work in.

Sean Allen, an assistant baseball coach at the University of Texas, was apparently unaware Donaldson is nursing a calf injury. He ripped Donaldson pretty good on Twitter after seeing video of the trot-less home run:

Yikes. Players don’t like being told they’re disrespecting the game. Donaldson is a pretty tough dude who has played hurt plenty of times in the past, including late last year, when he had a hip issue. He plays hard and he plays hurt. Spring training is not the time to do that though, not when you’re less than 100 physically.

Anyway, Donaldson didn’t appreciate Allen ripping him on Twitter, so he set the record straight:

Allen quickly apologized for the misunderstanding:

Donaldson did sneak in a nice little dig about bunting, however. It’s an epidemic in college baseball. There are nonstop bunts. You’ll see No. 3 and 4 hitters square around at the collegiate level. It’s terrible.