As the first half of the Major League Baseball season comes to a close, Auburn Wire will check in with several former Tigers who are currently on active MLB rosters.
The first up is the longest-tenured former Tiger in the show, New York Yankees’ third baseman, [autotag]Josh Donaldson[/autotag].
Donaldson had a sluggish first half, as he missed most of April, and all of May, due to a hamstring injury. Because of this, the distance between his hits and home run is minimal.
On Sunday, he set a new record by registering the fewest base hits by any player with double-digit home runs before the All-Star break in baseball history with 15 total hits and 10 home runs. Ironically, he took over that title from fellow Auburn alum, [autotag]Frank Thomas[/autotag], who had 20 hits and 11 home runs prior to the 2005 all-star break.
His home runs have been a product of great plate appearances. He hopes to turn those into more base hits and RBI opportunities in the second half.
“I feel like the at-bats have been there and the home runs have been predicated on having some pretty good at-bats,” Donaldson said Saturday. “I haven’t really had much fall other than that. I’m looking forward to that changing.”
Here’s a look at Donaldson’s first-half numbers.