Josh Donaldson, Minnesota Twins' third baseman, reacted sharply to Lucas Giolito, Chicago White Sox pitcher, on Wednesday. This comes one day after Giolito called him "pest" a "classless" and "classless" following Giolito's yelling, "Not sticky anymore" after a Tuesday night's first-inning homer."He called me an animal pest, right?" Donaldson spoke on Wednesday afternoon in a long videoconference with reporters. That's fine. That is almost a compliment."He calls my classless?" He called me classless. I was speaking to my bench. I was not pimping my home runs. He wasn't talking to me, or saying anything."Donaldson is known for being one of the most vocal sluggers in baseball when it comes to pitchers using sticky substances. The league recently cracked down on this practice. He stated that Giolito's reaction to Donaldson's post-homer comment was a powerful example of his character."Obviously, he took offense to my words, which I think speaks more about the looming mystery that's happening, which is: was he using sticky material before all this happened?" Donaldson stated. Donaldson said, "If he was not, then he probably wouldn’t have cared about this comment."After Donaldson had scored against Giolito on Tuesday night, the feud began. Donaldson was crossing the plate when he rubbed his hands together, and you could hear him saying "Hands are not sticky anymore." Giolito called Donaldson out after the game.Giolito declared Tuesday night, "He's an f---ing pest." "That's a very classless move. Talk to me if you want to talk.Donaldson stated that he met Giolito at the Guaranteed Rate Parking Lot after the White Sox's 7-6 win. On Wednesday, the Twins veteran was questioned about that meeting.Donaldson stated, "He didn’t really have much to say." He said that he thought that I was irritating. "He said that he thought I was annoying. I'm on the opposite team. I don't care what you think about me. I replied, "I'm in front of you." I will tell you what I think. I'm curious to hear your thoughts on this. He didn't respond."Giolito surrendered three runs on six hits, and one walk in six innings to earn his first win in a whole month.Donaldson claimed he noticed a difference in Giolito’s stuff Tuesday night. The league is now inspecting pitchers for foreign substance, including claims that the Sox's spin rate was lower."I didn’t see any swings or misses on fastballs yesterday, where he usually gets swings or misses up there." Donaldson stated that the spin rate is where you get that hopping effect. Yesterday's slider, he made a few misses but I hit a pitch to right field off him and one to left field off him. I felt like I had some really good passes and felt like other guys were making good swings on them.Donaldson also had a disagreement with Ozzie Guillen (White Sox TV analyst and former manager), who suggested that Giolito "drill" Donaldson by giving him a pitch during a postgame broadcast.Donaldson stated that Ozzie Guillen was talking trash on the air, saying that he would let one go and hit him in his ribs. "Ozzie Guillen was a career.700 OPS hitter. You were a three time All-Star with a.700 OPS. My worst season in big leagues was 150 points higher.Donaldson said, "People need to realize -- you speak about 95, or 98 mph balls being thrown at peoples' ribs and watching guys from New York [Yankees] talk the same s---about me?" "Oh, hit him in his ribs." Hey, I'm trying to be fair. "I didn't create the rules."On Wednesday night, Donaldson added fuel to the rivalry. After hitting his first White Sox pitcher Dylan Cease homer, Donaldson took a moment to appreciate his shot before circling the bases to the boos of Chicago fans.The White Sox & Twins will close their series on Thursday. They will play again in Minnesota next Monday through Wednesday.
