White Sox Yankees benches vacant, Tony La Russa accuses Josh Donaldson of making racist remark to Tim Anderson

The benches were cleared during the New York Yankees’ 7-5 win over the Chicago White Sox on Saturday. After the game, White Sox manager Tony La Russa accused the Yankees’ Josh Donaldson of making “a racist comment” against Chicago shortstop Tim Anderson. Anderson explained that Donaldson called him “Jackie,” which Anderson interpreted as a reference to Jackie Robinson, the groundbreaking Hall of Famer who incorporated Major League Baseball in 1947:

For his part, Donaldson acknowledged the remark, claiming it was a joint joke between Anderson and himself:

Newsday’s Laura Albanese has since tweeted that MLB was “concerned” about Donaldson’s comment and intends to investigate.

The benches were first emptied after a home plate confrontation between Donaldson and White Sox catcher Yasmani Grandal in the fifth inning:

A brawl was avoided, but Anderson had to be restrained by two teammates. A previous exchange of words with Donaldson likely led to what you saw above. Here’s a look at it:

That, in turn, could have something to do with an incident earlier this season in Chicago between Anderson and Donaldson:

Returning to Saturday, Anderson and Donaldson appeared to exchange words briefly in the seventh inning:

The Yankees and White Sox, who have now met five times in the past nine days, will play a doubleheader on Sunday, so this matter could be revisited in some way.

The Yankees’ win on Saturday puts them 29-10 for the season while the White Sox slip to 19-20.