Brewers teammate telling ridiculous Josh Donaldson story magnifies Yankees' mistake

There's no need to divulge more about why Josh Donaldson was one of the most hated Yankees of all time despite not even spending two full years in New York. Fans are just glad he's gone and that the front office admitted its mistake by releasing him.

But in case anybody out there was wondering why the Yankees taking on the $50 million owed to him (for his age-36 and -37 seasons) was both a failure on the production and team culture side of things, perhaps the reason he's been in the news ever since joining the Milwaukee Brewers will tell you why.

Donaldson already has three homers and 10 RBI in his first 12 games with the Brew Crew. He's wasted no time somehow immediately getting back on track despite being featured in a more underwhelming lineup than New York's.

Upon further review, Donaldson succeeded in Oakland, Toronto, Atlanta and Minnesota before the Yankees traded for him. Those are all small-to-mid markets with very little pressure attached. No wonder he's comfortable already in Milwaukee. He was always small time.

But Donaldson's impact on the Yankees' team chemistry was more crucial than his on-field non-tributions. The trash talking to Gerrit Cole the season prior; the incident with Tim Anderson; his inability to take a joke from Aaron Judge and Anthony Rizzo; the forced meeting with Aaron Boone that delayed the manager's press conference because he wanted to complain about being benched; and finally, the bizarre tweet he sent out after he was released all just proves he was a disruptor in the worst ways -- not the one that gives you an edge.

If he was acting like this during his time with the Yanks, then no wonder why he wasn't "accepted" into Judge's inner circle, which was reported by Bob Klapisch of NJ.com.

On Monday, the Foul Territory podcast posted, then deleted, a tweet featuring a clip from their interview with Brewers slugger Rowdy Tellez. The caption explained the story, which was told with an air of cuteness: "Josh Donaldson refused to introduce himself to Brewers teammates, saying, 'They know who I am'."

Brewers teammate telling ridiculous Josh Donaldson story magnifies Yankees' mistake

"We appreciate what Gio has done, but he's not Josh Donaldson." Remember that famous Cashman quote at the time of the trade? He was right! Urshela isn't a smug headcase who's living in the past.

This story from Brewers first baseman Rowdy Tellez on Foul Territory -- and the way he told it so casually -- only maginifies how badly the Yankees screwed up trading for this guy. This is not the attitude that meshes with an Aaron Judge and Gerrit Cole-led team. It shouldn't be an attitude accepted in any contending clubhouse, as a matter of fact.

Tellez went on to say a number of positive things about Donaldson, but those compliments were about his experience in the league and how he's helped keep the younger players "ready and understanding." That might be true, but it shows another reason why he didn't work out in the Bronx. He didn't necessarily have the opportunity to do that because it was Judge's locker room, not his.

Donaldson was misplaced from the start and it only got worse as his play cratered, which then officially turned the fan base against him.

But with a team full of real professionals like Judge, Cole, Rizzo and Giancarlo Stanton, how did the Yankees not see the addition of Donaldson as nothing but a clash of personalties? About that discord between the front office and dugout we've been talking about ...