Donaldson earns first Player of Month honor
Third baseman's numbers at plate help A's secure American League West
Josh Donaldson's breakout season ended with the A's third baseman earning American League Player of the Month honors for September.
The 27-year-old Donaldson hit .337 with eight doubles, five home runs and 16 RBIs in 25 games to help the A's win the AL West.
In September, Donaldson finished third in the league in runs scored (20), on-base percentage (.454) and slugging percentage (.596), fourth in walks (17), seventh in batting average and tied for 10th in doubles. His 17 September extra-base hits also ranked seventh in the AL, while he had 11 multi-hit efforts.
Donaldson's 28-game on-base streak, which ended Sept. 24, was the longest by an Athletic in five years.
This is Donaldson's first Player of the Month Award and the first for an A's player since Eric Chavez earned the honor in September 2000.
Outfielders Coco Crisp (.274, seven homers, 19 RBIs) and Yoenis Cespedes (.314, six homers, 19 RBIs) also were under consideration for the award.