John McDonald

Number 6

NAME: John Joseph McDonald
NUMBER: 6
POSTITION: Shortstop
PITCHES: Right
BATS: Right
DATE OF BIRTH: September 24, 1974
BIRTHPLACE: New London, Connecticut

From: Wikipedia.

John Joseph McDonald (born September 24, 1974 in New London, Connecticut) is a Major League Baseball infielder for the Toronto Blue Jays, primarily known for his defensive abilities.

McDonald was drafted in the 12th round of the 1996 Major League Baseball Draft by the Cleveland Indians. He made his MLB debut for Cleveland on July 4, 1999. On December 2, 2004, McDonald was traded from Cleveland to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for future considerations (Thomas Mastny).

McDonald was primarily a backup for Russ Adams at shortstop, putting up a .290 batting average and .340 OBP in 93 at-bats for the Blue Jays to go along with 5 stolen bases. He was traded from the Blue Jays to the Detroit Tigers on July 22, 2005 for future considerations. McDonald hit .260 with a .308 OBP for Detroit in 73 at-bats. He was traded from the Detroit Tigers back to the Toronto Blue Jays on November 10, 2005 for cash considerations.

During the 2006 season, he was the starting shortstop for the Toronto Blue Jays due to the defensive struggles of teammate Russ Adams. At a point in the season, John McDonald was labeled the "Emergency Back-up Catcher" for the Blue Jays behind their starting catchers Bengie Molina and Gregg Zaun as both played the role of Designated Hitter when they were not defensive catchers.

On July 25, 2006, McDonald hit his first career grand slam in a game against the Seattle Mariners.

For the 2007 season, McDonald is no longer the Blue Jays' everyday shortstop, but has seen significiant playing time there, sharing the position with newcomer Royce Clayton. He has also played games at third base as Troy Glaus's backup. After McDonald's strong devensive play during the season he replaced Royce Clayton as the starting shortstop. Clayton has since been released and McDonald continues to play shortstop, often making unbelievable defensive plays.

While McDonald's batting has been sporadic, recently he has become a stopgap in the lower part of the Blue Jays' batting order.

I am not affiliated with the Toronto Blue Jays and I do not own them either. Site & layout, however are © Selena
[ Home | Back | Foward ]