Guardians’ Josh Naylor punishes baseball, then his own helmet on go-ahead HR
From the perspective of intensity, Cleveland Guardians slugger Josh Naylor had a very good home run celebration Saturday. From the perspective of self-preservation, maybe not so much.
Naylor put the Guardians ahead in the fifth inning with a two-run homer, the pivotal point of a 6-3 win over the Oakland Athletics. As he approached first base, Naylor took his bat, smashed it against the top of his helmet, then slammed it down to the ground.
It wasn’t Naylor’s first colorful homer celebration, as he has also celebrated past long balls by headbutting his manager and rocking the baby.
His teammates certainly enjoy it, as does Guardians manager Stephen Vogt … to an extent. From MLB.com:
āThatās Josh Naylor, man,ā Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. āHeās obviously emotional and charismatic. As long as he didnāt concuss himself, Iām all right.ā
When asked if the helmet smash hurt, Naylor replied “not really.”
Naylor, a former first-round pick, came to Cleveland via the trade that sent Mike Clevinger to the San Diego Padres back in 2020. He has improved in every season since then, earning MVP votes in 2023 after hitting .308/.354/.489 with 17 homers and 97 RBI.
Naylor is off to an even better start this season, a major reason the Guardians possess the best record in baseball at 15-6. His brother Bo has been involved as well, including when they both homered in the same inning on National Sibling Day.
