Yankees pick Jamie Hoffman first in the Rule 5 draft

By Craig CalcaterraDec 10, 2009, 9:05 AM EST
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I’ll level with you: I don’t know most of the guys in the Rule 5 draft. But you don’t either, so we’re all in this together. I’ll pass along what people who know more than us say about whatever goes down.

First up: the Yankees — picking first because the Nats sent them the pick in the Brian Bruney deal on Monday — are going to take Jamie Hoffman.  He’s an outfielder from the Dodgers’ organization.

Descriptions of Hoffman buzzing around here:  “His ceiling is as a fifth outfielder.”  “a stronger, slower Brett Gardner.”  If that doesn’t excite you, Yankees fans, I don’t know what will.

Donaldson ejected for kicking dirt on plate after home run

David Banks-USA TODAY Sports
Associated PressSep 18, 2020, 10:46 AM EDT
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Minnesota’s Josh Donaldson managed to get ejected while hitting a home run.

Donaldson barked at plate umpire Dan Bellino for the second time in the sixth inning of a 4-3 loss to the Chicago White Sox on Thursday.

With the score 2-2, Bellino called a strike when the 2015 AL MVP checked his swing on a 2-0 pitch from Reynaldo Lopez.

Manager Rocco Baldelli came out to speak with Bellino, and Donaldson homered down the left-field line on the next offering. After rounding the bases, Donaldson kicked dirt at home plate as he crossed it.

Bellino ejected him immediately, and Donaldson, realizing he had missed home plate, returned to the plate to touch it and then argued as he kicked more dirt on it.

Donaldson also had argued with Bellino on a 1-1 breaking ball in the first inning that appeared to be high but was called a strike, leading to a strikeout.

“We need Josh on the field, out there playing, and at third base,” Baldelli said. “That’s when we’re at our best. And so that’s really the end of it. I think we can move past it at his point, and go from here.”