Jason Thomas Donald (born September 4, 1984) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

utility player. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

Early life

Donald attended Buchanan High School in

Clovis, California Clovis is a city in Fresno County, California, United States. The 2020 population was 120,124. Clovis is located northeast of downtown Fresno, at an elevation of 361 feet (110 m). History The city of Clovis began as a freight stop along the ...

, where his father is the coach of the baseball team. He played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

for the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

. In 2004 and 2005, he played collegiate summer baseball with the

Cotuit Kettleers The Cotuit Kettleers are a collegiate summer baseball team based in the village of Cotuit, Massachusetts, which is in the southwest corner of the town of Barnstable. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the lea ...

of the Cape Cod Baseball League, and was named a league all-star in 2005.

Professional career

Philadelphia Phillies

Donald was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the third round (97th overall pick) of the 2006 MLB draft. He was originally drafted by the

Anaheim Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...

in the 20th round of the 2003 MLB draft directly from high school, but chose not to sign. Donald was selected and participated in several All-Star games during the course of the 2008 season including the Eastern League All-Star game, and the premier event for minor leaguers, the MLB All-Star Futures Game (which in 2008 was played at

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the orig ...

). In 2009, Donald played nine games with the Gulf Coast League Phillies, going 6 for 26 (.231) before being assigned to the

Lehigh Valley IronPigs The Lehigh Valley IronPigs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and are named in reference to pig iron, used in the ...

of the International League. While with the Pigs, Jason had a .236 batting average with one home run over the course of 51 games. On July 29, 2009, the Phillies traded Donald, along with Carlos Carrasco, Lou Marson, and Jason Knapp to the

for

Cliff Lee Clifton Phifer Lee (born August 30, 1978) is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher who played for 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Between 2002 and 2014 he played for four teams, most notably the Philadelphia Philli ...

and Ben Francisco.

Cleveland Indians

On May 18, 2010, replacing injured

shortstop Asdrúbal Cabrera, Donald played against the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home v ...

and recorded his first major league hit on his first plate appearance. In his second at bat, he singled to right field against Rays starter David Price to begin his major league career 2-for-2. He then walked in his third at bat. On June 2, 2010, Donald was the 27th batter faced by

Armando Galarraga Armando Antonio Galarraga Barreto (born January 15, 1982) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball pitcher. Galarraga made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut with the Texas Rangers on September 15, 2007. He was traded to the Detroit ...

, who was one out away from pitching a

perfect game Perfect game may refer to: Sports * Perfect game (baseball), a complete-game win by a pitcher allowing no baserunners * Perfect game (bowling), a 300 game, 12 consecutive strikes in the same game * Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, New York ...

. Donald hit a ground ball to the right side of first baseman

Miguel Cabrera José Miguel Cabrera Torres (born April 18, 1983), nicknamed "Miggy", is a Venezuelan professional baseball first baseman and designated hitter for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Since his debut in 2003 he has been a two-t ...

, who fielded the ball cleanly and tossed the ball to Galarraga, who was covering first base. First base umpire

Jim Joyce James Alfred Joyce III (born October 3, 1955) is an American former professional baseball umpire who worked in the American League (AL) from 1987 to 1999 and throughout Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2000 to 2016. He wore uniform number 6 whil ...

called Donald safe, but replay showed that the throw beat Donald by one step.

Cincinnati Reds

On December 11, 2012, Donald was traded to the Cincinnati Reds in a three-team deal that also involved the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...

Shin-Soo Choo Shin-Soo Choo (; ; born July 13, 1982) is a South Korean professional baseball outfielder and designated hitter for the SSG Landers of the KBO League. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, Cleveland Indians, C ...

went with Donald to Cincinnati. Cleveland acquired Drew Stubbs from the Reds and

Trevor Bauer Trevor Andrew Bauer (born January 17, 1991) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Cleveland Indians, and Cincinnati Reds. Af ...

, Matt Albers and Bryan Shaw from the Diamondbacks. Arizona received Lars Anderson and

Tony Sipp Tony Marcel Sipp (born July 12, 1983) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians, Arizona Diamondbacks, Houston Astros, and Washington Nationals. Amateur career B ...

from the Indians and

Didi Gregorius Mariekson Julius "Didi" Gregorius (born February 18, 1990) is a Dutch professional baseball shortstop who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Yankees and Philadel ...

from the Reds.

Kansas City Royals

Donald signed a minor league deal with the Kansas City Royals on December 28, 2013.

Texas Rangers

On May 28, 2014, Donald was traded to the Texas Rangers for cash considerations. He became a free agent after the 2014 season.

Olympics

Donald and Indians backup catcher Lou Marson were selected to the

United States national baseball team The United States national baseball team represents the United States in international-level baseball competitions. The team is currently ranked 5th in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. Team USA won the Olympic baseball t ...

. Donald helped lead the United States to a bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Donald homered in the bronze medal game and led the team at the games in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. Donald batted .381 for the Games.

Awards and honors

In 2008, Donald received the Arizona Fall League's Dernell Stenson Sportsmanship Award.

References

External links

Scout.com profileTeam USA profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Donald, Jason 1984 births Living people Baseball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in baseball Sportspeople from Clovis, California Sportspeople from Modesto, California Baseball players from California Cleveland Indians players Arizona Wildcats baseball players Batavia Muckdogs players Lakewood BlueClaws players Clearwater Threshers players Florida Complex League Phillies players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players Reading Phillies players Columbus Clippers players Louisville Bats players Omaha Storm Chasers players Round Rock Express players Cotuit Kettleers players Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics