Josh Donaldson Joins Auburn's Wall of Fame at Plainsman Park
josh donaldson joined Auburn baseball’s Wall of Fame on Friday at Plainsman Park, adding another honor to a career that began on the Plains and reached the top of Major League Baseball. His No. 4 jersey will reside at the bottom of the War Eagle Wall in left field, alongside a Player Development Center gift that keeps his Auburn footprint in the ballpark.
Plainsman Park Honors Donaldson
Donaldson said on the Talking Tigers podcast with Andy Burcham that he was "thrilled" by the honor. He called it "special" to be listed with the names already on the wall and said, "Not a lot of people get that opportunity. To be on the wall with the guys who are up there is special and I appreciate it very much."
That honor reaches beyond a plaque. The Josh Donaldson Hitting Lab highlights Auburn’s Player Development Center, and Donaldson made a leadership gift for that facility after wanting Auburn players to have every chance to develop into the best version of themselves.
His path at Auburn still anchors the case for the recognition. Donaldson starred for the Tigers from 2005-07 and batted.307 with 28 career home runs before the Chicago Cubs selected him with the 48th overall pick in the Major League Baseball Draft. He later debuted for the Oakland Athletics in 2010.
Donaldson’s MLB Run
From there, the numbers kept climbing. Donaldson hit 279 homers over a 13-year MLB career and won the 2015 American League Most Valuable Player award for Toronto, finishing as a three-time All-Star. Auburn’s Wall of Fame now pairs that pro production with the production he delivered in college.
Butch Thompson, who was the Tigers’ pitching coach during Donaldson’s time on the Plains, said, "He had great skills" and "He’s not scared of anybody or anything." Thompson added, "I’m proud of him," and said Donaldson "stayed in it and kept fighting" before giving back to the program.
Auburn’s Wall of Fame Company
Donaldson joins a Wall of Fame group that includes Bo Jackson, Frank Thomas, Gregg Olson and Tim Hudson. Auburn also said Frank Thomas and Donaldson are the only players in program history to be league MVPs, which puts this induction in a very small category even before the jersey and hitting lab are counted.
The honor gives Auburn fans a direct marker of how one player’s career now sits in two places at once: on the left-field wall at Plainsman Park and in the program’s history book. It also gives current players a visible standard, with Donaldson’s path showing that an Auburn start can lead to a major league finish worth hanging beside the best names in the program.
