5 MVP moments from Donaldson's award-winning season
On the night of Nov. 28, 2014, the Toronto Blue Jays shocked the baseball world with a megadeal, acquiring third baseman Josh Donaldson from the Oakland Athletics for a package of players.
Almost one year later, the 29-year-old out of Auburn University has already earned a Players Choice Award for Player of the Year, a Hank Aaron Award as the American League's top offensive player, and a Silver Slugger Award.
On Thursday, Donaldson added the American League MVP award to his mantle, making him the first Blue Jay to win it since George Bell in 1987.
Here are five of the biggest moments from Donaldson's MVP-caliber season.
THE FIRST, AND SECOND, OF MANY
Coming to the Blue Jays with a huge amount of fanfare that praised his home run power, Donaldson was held without a dinger for his first 11 games of the 2015 season. That lasted until a mid-April contest against the Atlanta Braves inside the Rogers Centre, when the slugger belted not one, but two long balls - his first homers in a Toronto uniform.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!
Donaldson's incredible season may be remembered for years to come because of what he did with his bat, but his glove work was mighty fine as well. Just ask Marco Estrada, who had a perfect game going against the Tampa Bay Rays on June 24 and saw Donaldson keep it alive (albeit temporarily) with a potential play of the year.
A MAD DASH
MVPs should be able to do it all, and Donaldson demonstrated just that against the Cleveland Indians on Sept. 2. Not only did he show the ability to create action with his legs, but his creativity in the slide department made the hometown crowd explode.
MIKIE DOESN'T LIKE IT
The clever third baseman fielded what looked to be a harmless grounder against the Rays on Sept. 27 and used a dynamic tag attempt to get baserunner Mikie Mahtook out at third. After review, the play on the field stood, and Donaldson added another highlight-reel play to his resume.
GOING OUT WITH A BANG
The evening of Donaldson's incredible play on Mahtook was also the last home game of the regular season for the Blue Jays, and the slugger punctuated his fine work at the Rogers Centre with an exclamation point.
With the game tied at four in the bottom of the ninth inning, Donaldson showed why his season may go down as one of the greatest in the franchise's history, cranking his 41st home run and third walk-off dinger of the season over the left-field fence to secure the win.
(Videos courtesy: MLB.com)