[新聞] A's Donaldson takes nothing for granted

看板Athletics作者ThomasHSNU (mimura *^^*)時間11年前 (2013/05/26 13:13)推噓20(20推 0噓 12→)

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http://www.sfchronicle.com/athletics/article/A-s-Donaldson-takes-nothing-for-granted-4544891.php?t=be71c5f9fc3d4cb4da A's Donaldson takes nothing for granted 3rd baseman has fun playing game he respects Susan Slusser May 24, 2013 Hard as it might be to fathom now, there was a time last year when Josh Donaldson figured he had no future with the A's. "I thought this organization was done with me," Donaldson said of his two demotions last summer. He reapplied himself, and his persistence paid off: Donaldson, 27, is the top All-Star candidate among Oakland's position players. He has a team-high 25 RBIs, and he's playing "a Gold Glove caliber" third base, one American League scout said last week. Much of Donaldson's resolve comes from his mom, Lisa French, who was a single mother much of Donaldson's youth. Before Donaldson was in school, his parents had divorced and his father, Levon, was sent to prison for 15 years for drug- related offenses and domestic violence. French worked both days and nights at the family bar to have the flexibility to see all of Donaldson's sporting events, determined to provide her only child with stability after the early family upheaval. "A lot of stuff was going on that was not good," Donaldson said. "I had to grow up pretty fast. That helped the bond between me and my mom be even closer. "At one point, the cops were looking for him, and he asked me, 'Who do you want to go with, me or your mom?' I was 4 years old. I obviously picked my mom." As a child, Donaldson visited his father in prison and he has not cut him out of his life entirely, though he rarely sees him. "I hope he's learned," Donaldson said. "He's done his time, and for the most part, most of the males on that side of my family are dead or in jail. I'm definitely not looking for sympathy - the credit goes to my mom and how brave and awesome she is. She's special - what every mom should be like. And she'd never say a bad word about my dad. She'd say, 'Hey, he's your father, you should have a relationship with him.' " "I never allowed anyone to bad-mouth his dad in front of him," French said. "I never wanted that to come back on me when Josh was old enough to make his own decisions. And I was so lucky to have my brother in the picture, too, as a prime example of what a dad should be." Donaldson's uncle, Chuck Pyritz, introduced Donaldson to football when he was 8, and he became a standout: He had 11 interceptions as a high school senior at Faith Academy in Alabama, and was named MVP of the Alabama private school All- Star Game after two touchdowns and 130 yards receiving. (Donaldson once told his mother he didn't want to be very tall because he wanted to be like his favorite player, Emmitt Smith. Whenever he complains about stalling out at 6- feet, she likes to remind him of that.) He also was the Alabama baseball Player of the Year as a senior. Donaldson's athletic ability was apparent early. He was on television at 18 months old because he was hitting drives with a picture-perfect golf swing, something his dad had taught him. French made sure her son was occupied with school and sports every day to keep him out of trouble, and with a laugh, she describes Donaldson as "the perfect child - until he hit 14 and suddenly that mouth became the smartest mouth on the face of the Earth." Donaldson does have a brash side - he can be his own biggest fan but also has a sense of humor about himself, usually following up a boast with something equally self-deprecating. "He was quite a bit of a showboat," French said. "He always wanted to make a statement. I can remember once he ran right out of his shoes while jumping over a second baseman. Some people don't appreciate it, but that's his personality. When you're a professional athlete, you have to have little bit of an ego or you're not going to make it." "I definitely get some grief," Donaldson said of his occasionally self- congratulatory ways. "That's been with me since college, when I was the most hated man by other teams. Sometimes people take it the wrong way, but if you watch the way I play, I respect the game, and I'm still having fun. I'm a kid in a grown-up's body." Donaldson also always has time for young fans; a parent with a special-needs child recently remarked how good Donaldson had been with his son, making a special trip over to the stands to say hello. That also was instilled by his mother. "Once a year, we would go see the Braves play, but one time when Josh was about 10, he waited by the tunnel for 2 1/2 hours for an autograph, and no one signed one for him," French said. "He said, 'I hate the Braves,' and he was so disappointed, we never went back. I told him, 'You always remember that. If you ever are in that situation, don't you ever deny a child an autograph.' " Knowing last winter that he would be the A's starting third baseman, Donaldson amped up his already demanding offseason training. He began to work out with Jerry Partsch, a strength coach at South Alabama, and Partsch addressed some posture issues - many years of catching had left Donaldson's hips out of the ideal alignment. Working different muscle groups did the trick - the former catcher was doing box jumps at Yoenis Cespedes levels, leaping 52 inches. "He was jumping out of the gym," Partsch said. He's also strong - during spring training, Donaldson could squat 465 pounds after a winter of flipping tires and throwing kegs with Partsch. He believes his workout habits will keep him healthy as well as performing at his peak ability. As for his offensive consistency since he came back up last August - he hit .290 after his recall - Donaldson had an epiphany last summer in Sacramento. "I was trying to hit everything - fastballs inside, sliders away, and it wasn't working," he said. "I decided to cut the plate in half, and look either inside or outside. That gave me the ability to home in on the zone, and I think that's ultimately been the biggest part of the success I had last year and this." Donaldson has 22 walks this year after only 14 all of last season, his .308 average is tops on the team and his .383 on-base percentage is 13th best in the league. "If you'd told me in the middle of last year I'd be Oakland's starting third baseman, I'd have called you a bald-faced liar, but if there's one thing I've learned in my life, it's that you get chances and you can go down one road or the other," Donaldson said. "Every day, I try to get better. I don't take a single day for granted." -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 220.135.90.179

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