Truth behind famous Toronto Blue Jays cologne argument finally comes out
There were many memorable moments from those 2015 and 2016 Toronto Blue Jays teams, but one of the funniest came from a post-game interview involving Josh Donaldson and a bottle of cologne.
Nearly a decade ago, Donaldson and former Blue Jays manager John Gibbons got into a heated confrontation after Donaldson struck out for the third time in a game against the New York Yankees and smashed his bat against the dugout railing.
Gibbons wasn't a fan of Donaldson's dugout behaviour, so he went to do something about it.
When reporters later asked what the altercation was about, Donaldson gave an all-time answer:
"Gibby asked me what kind of cologne I was wearing, and I said it's this new cologne called Tom Ford. I just got it. I can give you some after the game."
Now, nearly a decade later, Gibbons finally revealed what was really said between the two Blue Jays legends.
On the latest episode of Donaldson's Get it Done League podcast with Russell Martin and former Blue Jays broadcaster Arash Madani, Gibbons, who was a special guest on the show, laughed when the story was brought up and said that the former AL MVP's rendition was totally wrong.
Gibbons said on the podcast that he had a feeling Donaldson would struggle against New York Yankees left-hander CC Sabathia, and that's exactly what transpired.
"Sabathia was the only left-hander in the league who gave Josh trouble," Gibbons said.
The 64-year-old skipper was going to give Donaldson the day off, but ended up using him as a DH.
"The first at-bat, he was sword fighting [swinging and missing] on three pitches," Gibbons laughed. "The next at-bat, same thing."
Gibbons joked that Donaldson's at-bats were so bad, they were enough to help get Sabathia into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Donaldson's third trip to the plate didn't go much better. After striking out again, he slammed his bat against the dugout railing just feet away from Gibbons.
"I remember thinking, I can't let this happen," Gibbons said.
What followed was the heated exchange that eventually produced one of the most memorable post-game quotes and a complementary marketing campaign for Tom Ford.
Both Gibbons and Donaldson left the Blue Jays in 2018. Donaldson was traded to Cleveland, while Gibbons and the club parted ways at the end of the season.
Gibbons is surprisingly still active in the MLB, serving as a bench coach for the Los Angeles Angels under manager Kurt Suzuki.
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