Donaldson destroys MLB’s beanball culture

But the Twins are a baseball team and baseball teams are ridiculously sensitive about stuff like that.

And in Donaldson’s next at-bat, Twins starter Phil Hughes one of the game’s foremost control artists started Donaldson off with two pitches that just missed hitting him.

Blue Jays manager John Gibbons got ejected for objecting, and after the game, Donaldson stated in no uncertain terms that Major League Baseball needs to do more to end retaliatory plunkings.

Rougned Odor caught an eight-game suspension which he’s appealing for punching Jose Bautista in the face while Bautista himself appeared to have his arm raised to punch Odor.

Odor’s offense represented a more egregious breach of MLB protocol, but which is actually more dangerous: Punching someone who looks like he’s preparing to punch you, or firing a baseball 96-mph at him when he doesn’t know it’s coming? Yes, internet tough guys: I recognize that plunkings have always been part of the game, and I appreciate that pitchers should be allowed to throw inside and that it will always be difficult to know a pitcher’s intent with certainty.