Josh Donaldson was one of three players named as finalists for the National League Comeback Player of the Year award, along with Sonny Gray and Hyun-Jin Ryu.
The MLBPA announced that players have selected Lucas Giolito, Jorge Soler and Hunter Pence as finalists in the American League and Josh Donaldson, Sonny Gray and Hyun-Jin Ryu in the National League in voting for Comeback Player honors in the 2019 Players Choice Awards.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) October 14, 2019
Donaldson was one of the best and most consistent players on the Atlanta Braves this season, providing the Braves with one of the best cleanup hitters in the MLB, in 2019.
Donaldson’s stats in 2019
- 6.1 bWAR/4.9 fWAR
- .259/.379/.521
- .900 ops
- 96 runs
- 142 hits
- 33 doubles
- 37 home runs
- 94 rbi
- 4 stolen bases
- 100 bb
- 127 ops+
- 132 wRC+
Donaldson took a bet on himself in 2019, signing a one-year $23-million contract with the Braves to prove that he can still play at an MVP-level and that he is worthy of a mega contract. And after a slow start with the Braves, the baseball world was already calling his contract a waste... however, everything changed for Donaldson on June 10 after the Pittsburgh Pirates hit him, leading to Donaldson's ejection from the game.
In the 93 games after this June 10 ejection, Donaldson was putting up historic numbers. He posted a 162-game pace of 51 home runs, 121 runs-batted-in and 110 bases-on-balls, in the 93 games after his ejection. Only nine players have ever had 50+ home runs, 120+ rbi and 110+ bb, in a single season.
List of players with 50+ home runs, 120+ rbi and 110+ bb, in a single season
- Babe Ruth
- Jimmie Foxx
- Hank Greenberg
- Ralph Kiner
- Mickey Mantle
- Mark McGwire
- Barry Bonds
- Sammy Sosa
- David Ortiz
| Donaldson’s stats prior to June 10 (61 games) | Donaldson’s stats after June 10 (93 games) |
| .237 avg | .272 avg |
| .354 obp | .394 obp |
| .419 slg | .587 slg |
| .773 ops | .980 ops |
| 8 hr | 29 hr |
| 25 rbi | 69 rbi |
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