Yankees’ Donaldson Makes Unusual MLB History With Just His 14th Hit of Season
Josh Donaldson, who has drawn the ire of Yankees fans this year, is on a somewhat strange side of history after hitting his 10th home run of the season in New York’s 6–3 win over the Cubs on Saturday.
The veteran slugger, who entered Saturday afternoon’s tilt hitting just .125 (2-for-16) in the month of July, belted his second home run of the current home stand but it comes with a dubious distinction.
With the blast, Donaldson reached double-digit home runs but he only has 14 total hits in 2023. That’s the fewest number of hits while reaching the 10 home runs in a season in MLB history, according to CBS Sports.
The 37-year old, who is hitting a paltry .146 on the season, helped extend the Yankees lead in the second inning—a lead they would never surrender as New York improved to 28–22 at home and 49–41 overall.
Since breaking into the majors back in 2010 with Oakland, Donaldson has been a career .262 hitter, so seeing him have just 14 hits in 96 at-bats is mind-boggling. The Yankees, who rank No. 28 in MLB as a team this season with a .230 batting average, would surely like to see the veteran help the lineup get back on track as the All-Star break approaches.
