Deuce's Blog: Donaldson Is MVP Candidate
Donaldson is an MVP candidate
Some baseball fans outside of Northern California were surprised that A's third baseman Josh Donaldson is the leading all-star vote-getter at third base in the American League.
Well, it's time to wake up because not only is Donaldson an all-star, he's an AL MVP candidate.
Sure, he plays in Oakland which isn't exactly getting national recognition but he deserves a ton of credit for what he's done the last couple of seasons, his work ethic and where the A's are in the standings.
How about the praise from AL MVP Miguel Cabrera? Cabrera raved about Donaldson, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.
"He can change games with his bat and with his defense – he's become one of the best third basemen in the game." Cabrera told Susan Slusser of The Chronicle. "He's made a difference for this team. He's an exciting player to watch, too. He comes to play every day and he plays with a lot of passion."
Donaldson has been great defensively and he's producing offensively (.277 AVG, 13 HR, 41 RBI, .370 OBP). He's also 2nd in MLB in WAR (Wins Above Replacement) at 4.07—ahead of Angels stud Mike Trout.
No one was surprised about his walk-off blast on Wednesday night because his confidence continues to grow.
What's more amazing about Donaldson's emergence is that he made the transition from catcher to third base in 2012—a position he hadn't played since 2007 when he was in college, according to The Mercury News.
He WILL be representing the A's at the All-Star game and I have a feeling we'll see a few of his teammates with him.
Donaldson finished 4th in AL MVP voting last year, and expect him to be near the top this season.
Stephenson is crazy
Pacers guard Lance Stephenson is the craziest, most entertaining player to watch in the NBA. You NEVER know what he's going to do, and I absolutely love it.
Who on earth would blow in an opponent's ear? And that opponent is none other than the best player on the planet.
Lance doesn't care. He's going to play hard, he's going to talk smack, he's going to throw fits when he doesn't get the ball, and it's beyond entertaining to watch.
Props to the champ
Great meeting UFC champion T.J. Dillashaw on Thursday. He's a super nice guy that could kick my ass. He told us that his new belt weighs 12 pounds.
Hear his conversation with Keith Brooks and Carmichael Dave:
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