"I’ve been waiting on this day for 2 years" - Yankees fans celebrate Josh Donaldson’s retirement after failed Bronx tenure

Former New York Yankees third baseman Josh Donaldson announced his retirement on Monday after a 13-season journey in MLB.

Although Donaldson was an AL MVP in 2015 with the Toronto Blue Jays, Yankees fans have not forgotten his disastrous two seasons with their team, and some are happy with the 38-year-old's decision to hang up his cleats.

Donaldson made his MLB debut in April 2010 with the Oakland Athletics and has played for nine different teams. His best season came with the Jays in 2015, when he led the American League with 122 runs, 123 RBIs and 352 total bases and won the MVP award. He was a three-time All-Star between 2014 and 2016 with Oakland and Toronto.

However, he spent his last MLB seasons with the Bronx Bombers were disastrous. He joined the team in 2022 from the Minnesota Twins. But that year he batted just .222/.308/.374 with 15 home runs and 62 RBIs. He made contact with only 75.5% of all pitches he swung at in the strike zone, which is the lowest percentage in MLB history.

In 2023 he hit .142 with 10 home runs and 15 RBIs in 33 games and was placed on the injured list with a right calf strain in July before being released in August.

Here's how fans reacted.

Josh Donaldson reflects on his decision to retire

Former Blue Jays star Josh Donaldson reflected on his decision to retire. Although he had a great start to his career more than a decade ago, his last couple of years in MLB weren't great, especially his stint with the Yankees.

On Sean Casey's podcast, "Mayor's Office," Donaldson opened up about his decision.

"There was a time at the end of the season that I felt really good about where I was at and wanted to try to give it one more go," Donaldson said. "But being home with the family, getting married — today is a sad but also happy day for me.

"I’ve dedicated my entire life around (baseball), and my family has. It’s sad because I won’t be able to go out there and play the game that I love anymore, but it’s also a very happy time that I get to be around my family and kind of take that next chapter in life.”