How Josh Naylor Became The Craziest Player in Baseball

Intro heading into the 2024 season the Cleveland Guardians were largely not considered favorites to win the week a Central Division Central D this one's a little bit more wide open but I'm going with the Minnesota Twins in fourth place I have the Cleveland Guardians not enough thump in that lineup in my opinion in fourth place dropping them down a little bit I've got the Cleveland Guardians this is a team that just doesn't feel ready right now for me to be one of the best teams in this division since then they've become a Powerhouse of not just the central but of the entire sport thanks in no small part to one man back his angle he's out of room out of here again yes indeed [Applause] left field it's deep Gordon is back looking up it's gone there may not be a more emotional player in the game of baseball today Naylor's Upbringing Joshua Douglas James Naylor was born in Miss aaga Canada Toronto's sister city from a young age Naylor took an interest in baseball even admitting that one time he pissed himself while taking batting practice with his dad because he didn't want them to stop only to immediately hit a home run off the next pitch so solidifying his place as doing the coolest thing any child has ever done immediately after peeing in their pants Naylor had to sacrifice much of his youth in order to become one of Canada's best amateur players all the work paid off however as he got to compete for the Blue Jays of the Premier baseball league of Ontario as well as be a part of Canada's Junior national baseball team one coach for the Ontario Blue Jays even claimed that during batting practice Naylor struck a light Tower in right field and just like the scene from The Natural shattered one of the lights creating a spark that sent his team into a hysteric he really made a name for himself outside of Canada when he competed in the 2014 Junior Home Run Derby at Target Field finishing runner up to luuk Baker later that year his team was stranded in Mexico and left without running water electricity or any way to communicate back home when hurricane odile struck Tiana while they were playing in the Pan-American championship tournament even having to take refuge in a Juvenile jail to which Naylor refused to sleep in the beds because well they were covered in blood in 2015 he was drafted 12th overall at the age of 17 by the Miami Marlins not only becoming the highest draft pick from Canada but also the youngest just like another famous Cleveland player Josh was involved in a knife incident that took place while he was still in the miners in June of 2016 he attempted a knife prank on teammate and roommate Stone Garrett in their Greensboro apartment when he accidentally sliced Garrett's right thumb open requiring three stitches now it is important to remember that this was 2016 when channels such as prank Invasion and Joey salad were hard to escape I tried to find the video that Naylor was trying to emulate but with no success the Marlins were less than throwed with Naylor after he cut open their fourth ranked Prospect and traded him to the Padre's as part of a package that included Luis Castillo whom the Padres weren't thrilled with for some reason returning him to the Marlins a few days Early MLB Career later from there Naylor who had hit a few developmental bumps during his brief time with the Marlins organization really started to find his own with the Padre's he had a strong fall league in 2017 before putting it all together in both double A and AAA in 2018 I do have to put a disclaimer on his triaa numbers however because the Pacific coast league is notorious for its crazy offensive environment still Naylor's performance as a 21-year-old was nothing to bck at in 2019 fangraphs ranked him as the Padre's 11th best Prospect as part of a loaded system bestowing upon Him The Godly 70 raw power grade as well as projecting him for 60 game Power even if the big boned Naylor was viewed as a base running and defensive liability Naylor made his major league debut on May 24th 2019 only a few miles away from where he grew up in the same stadium he had actually played a few games at as an amateur while with the junior national team sometimes baseball Works in strange and mysterious ways while Naylor went 0 for Foreigner's debut he would get the scoring started the next day in a game in which the podre scored the most runs in franchise history since 1996 a game started by fellow Canadian I and occasional Captain Obvious cosplayer Cal control while his rookie numbers were nothing to write home about one fact about Naylor was hard to ignore the dude could hit tanks his average Homer distance that year was higher than Sluggers such as CJ Cron ree Hoskins and Matt olon Naylor was traded to the Indians in the middle of the 2020 season as part of the Mike cger deal he was fit into their crowded left field situation to end the short in season but he made a name for himself in the a wild card series by becoming the second Lefty swinging big boy whom Garrett Cole is legally required to call Daddy this would be the start of a rather cantankerous relationship between Naylor and the Yankees niler got off to a slow The Injury start in 2021 but was starting to heat up before disaster struck I am going to show this injury but be warned it is gruesome it makes my skin crawl and I have a pretty high tolerance for stuff like this nayor collided with second basement Ernie clment did a full 360 before all of his weight landed on his right ankle fracturing it in multiple places for me this is one of the worst baseball injuries we've seen in the 21st century up there with Kevin polar getting drilled in the face and Ronald aun Junior's ACL tear this is the type of injury that could derail a player's The Breakout career so naturally Josh Naylor had his best season a year later while his surface stats were good it was in clutch situations Naylor really shined he had the third best OPS in late in close situations behind only Aaron judge and Tyro Estrada it was in these situations where Naylor really let his freak out on May 9th he hit a game time Grand Slam against White Sox closer Liam Hendrick he would then hit a go-ahead three-run homer with two outs in the 11th inning not only shattering the record for most RBI in the ninth inning or later but single-handedly winning the game for his team in one of the greatest home run celebrations of all time Naylor can't even contain his excitement while Runing second before he goes up to some white sock fans by the guardian Dugout telling them I want all the smoke you guys feed me God before violently throwing his helmet perfectly into the cubby and marching throughout the Guardians Dugout God baseball's awesome about a month later he would hit his first walk-off Homer against another division foe Guardians manager Terry Fran cona wanted to celebrate with him but knew there would be an impending headbutt from the human equivalent to an F5 tornado Tito used his resources and joined the celebration Dawning a batting helmet protecting his elderly head from Nail's blow oh by the way the starting pitcher that game his fellow Canadian Cal quantrol Naylor credited his sudden amped up nature in these situations to the feeling that every game could be his last because at one point he believed it to be true Naylor's clutch hitting and ferocity amped a Guardians team up to a first place finish in the AL Central Who's Your Daddy that year in game four of the ALDS his uncontained energy was broadcast to a national audience hits this one well in the Gap and right center field judge watches it leave the yard and Naylor's got his own home run dance Naylor's rocking the baby celebration angered a ton of Yankees fans the same fans who had harassed Naylor's teammates earlier in the season you know just win with respect you don't need to throw stuff on the field you don't need to hurt anyone like you guys won like cheer and have fun have some beers with each other but you don't need to throw them on the field you're just wasting your money Naylor didn't back down however he even embraced whatever insults would come his way when the Guardians play the Yankees in New York for game five even calling their who's your daddy chants pretty cool not only did Naylor celebration rub Yankees fans the wrong way I found none of it funny and I was completely irate it rubbed their players the wrong way as well gar Cole mockingly called it cute and glaber Torres imitated it after receiving the final out of the series even non- Yankees players would start mimicking the celebration 2023 was a huge year for 2023 And Beyond Josh as his little brother and by proxy Garrett Cole's Uncle Bo who was drafted by Cleveland while Naylor was still with the Padre's organization would begin to receive extended playing time for the major league team he also began volunteering for the Ronald McDonald House in Cleveland to provide meals for families in need which he did throughout the season Karma seemed to be on Josh's side as he was putting together his best year at the plate before going down with a strain oblique that forced him to miss all of August despite this Naylor posted a career- high slash line while continuing to make a name for himself as a clutch player now in 2024 Naylor is a a key contributor to a Guardians team that has surprisingly taken the baseball world by storm on National Siblings Day Josh and Bo became the sixth pair of brothers to Homer in the same inning joining the Ripkin uptons and wers and Josh even started a new celebration I can only call the self boinking Nation he's already set career highs in homers walks run scored and is on Pace to break several other personal best as it continues to show that he is one of the best clutch hitters in the game [Music] Naylor despite being a loose cannon on the field is actually one of the most reserved players in a Clubhouse full of big personalities and that's how he's able to maintain his consistency despite portraying himself as how Guardians radio announcer Tom Hamilton describes as bulling a china shop he leaves it all out on the field he plays every game like it's his last because at one point he thought he played in his last game but that injury seemed to supercharge him into the boisterous king of clutch which has given us some of the craziest celebrations we've seen from a player in an environment that is gradually embracing all walks of life and that's what makes Josh Naylor baseball's most lovable psycho you're going to see plenty of him in October and his celebrations May rub your fan base the wrong way but please keep this video in mind before passing judgment because I believe every team needs a Josh Naylor [Music] oh