Guardians’ Naylor ties Canadian MLB record with eight RBIs in game

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May 10, 2022

By Kevin Glew

Cooperstowners in Canada

Josh Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) belted a two-out, grand slam home run to tie the game in the ninth inning, then added a three-run, game-winning home run in the 11th to lead the Cleveland Guardians to a 12-9 victory over the Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field on Monday night.

The Mississauga North Baseball Association, Ontario Blue Jays and Junior National Team alum also collected an RBI double in the eighth inning to finish with eight RBIs, which ties a Canadian single-game major league record (See following graphic).

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Naylor also became the first player in major league history to record eight RBIs from the eighth inning on in a game. The Canuck slugger also became the first in big league history to sock two homers that drove in three or more runs in the ninth inning or later in the same contest.

“I’m ready for every challenge,” Naylor told MLB.com after the game. “We’re all ready for every challenge on this team. It doesn’t matter who’s on the mound. It doesn’t matter if it’s Nolan Ryan, we’re ready for it.

After taking three of four from the Blue Jays on the weekend, the Guardians had evened their record at 14-14, but appeared destined for a loss when they were trailing the White Sox 8-4 with two outs in the ninth inning. That was when Naylor walked to the plate to face all-star closer Liam Hendriks with the bases loaded and promptly cleared them with a 421-foot blast to right-centre to tie the game.

The Guardians and White Sox exchanged runs in the 10th before Naylor launched a three-run home run to right field off Sox reliever Ryan Burr in the 11th.

The game also represented the first multi-home run game of Naylor’s big league career. With his performance on Monday, he boosted his batting average to .338 this season and he now has 21 RBIs in 19 games.

The left-handed hitting Canuck began the season on the injured list after sustaining multiple leg fractures in an on-field collision with a teammate last June.

Naylor is now in his fourth major league season.

6 thoughts on “Guardians’ Naylor ties Canadian MLB record with eight RBIs in game”

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  1. Tom Valcke – Stratford, Ontario – Tom Valcke put his iCASE Baseball Academy as well as his position of Head Coach at George Brown College into hiatus, when Hong Kong brought him there in 2018 to serve as head coach of their Men's Olympic baseball team, where he finished with unprecedented success in the 2018 Asian Games held in Jakarta, Indonesia, spiking their WBSC World Ranking from #41 to #28 in just one year under his tutelage. China then scooped up Valcke, as he became the GM and Head Coach of Panda Sport and Culture, a division of the China Olympic Federation, overseeing baseball and softball, and training the national team coaches of baseball and softball, men's and women's teams. Panda Sport and Culture is based in Zhongshan, China's nationally recognized "#1 Baseball City," located on the southeast tip of China, and has a climate much like Florida. On his own initiative, he spent his evenings working with the local coaches of Zhongshan's local amateur youth baseball teams. For the first time in history, the same city won all four 2019 China National Championship gold medals, in 18U, 15U, 12U and 10U, that city being Zhongshan! Valcke worked with the China Baseball Association and Major League Baseball in helping the world's largest country accelerate their evolution into baseball, and helped them design and build a professional baseball stadium, a 600-room dormitory, and a new HQ for Panda Sport and Culture, where he held the role of CEO, in charge of a staff of 60. Valcke, former Technical Director, and Executive Director of Baseball Canada, and former coach of Team Canada, remains a baseball analyst with CBC Canada Radio and TV. The former president/CEO of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, who spent a decade as the Canadian Supervisor with the Major League Baseball Central Scouting Bureau, served as a television broadcaster for the Montreal Expos, the GM of the Calgary Cannons Triple-A club, and the CEO/Head Coach of the World Children's Baseball Fair. He is the proud father of Alanna, Jaxon and Mia, and lucky husband of Paula since 1987. Jaxon and Mia are current star players and captains, respectively, of the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds baseball and softball teams. Mia also became the second female in history to play in World Cups for Team Canada Women's baseball team as well as Team Canada Women's softball team. https://www.canadianbaseballnetwork.com/canadian-baseball-network-articles/baseball-nomad-valcke-a-top-amateur-executive http://www.wbsc.org/csta-prestige-awards-honors-tom-valcke/ https://cooperstownersincanada.com/2012/01/23/valcke-recognized-for-global-baseball-efforts/
    Tom Valcke says:

    Josh Naylor has had incredible relative bat speed since he was at least 14 years old, the first time I saw him play. In amateur tournaments, when the host would include a HR contest, I distinctly remember teams hurrying to the event just to watch him unload. Josh swings aggressively, but he doesn’t try to hit HRs. He tries to hit the ball hard somewhere. I remember coaching against his team, the Mississauga North Tigers, putting on the “pull” shift with the outfielders, and having our pitcher throw nothing but soft stuff. Still, Josh had the patience and talent to sit back and drill the ball into LF all three times. I knew at that point he had a future in baseball. On top of all that, he’s a great guy, and what a lesson in perseverence he displayed working through the injury in an all-hustle play last season!

    Reply
    1. cooperstownersincanada – Kevin Glew is a professional writer based in London, Ontario. His work has been featured on CBC Sports, Sportsnet.ca, MLB.com and Sympatico.ca. He has also written articles for Baseball Digest, Baseball America, The Hockey News, Sports Market Report and the Canadian Baseball Network. He has been involved with the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame for more than 16 years, including a two-year stint as the museum's acting curator.
      cooperstownersincanada says:

      Thanks for your comment and insight, Tom.

      Reply
    1. cooperstownersincanada – Kevin Glew is a professional writer based in London, Ontario. His work has been featured on CBC Sports, Sportsnet.ca, MLB.com and Sympatico.ca. He has also written articles for Baseball Digest, Baseball America, The Hockey News, Sports Market Report and the Canadian Baseball Network. He has been involved with the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame for more than 16 years, including a two-year stint as the museum's acting curator.
      cooperstownersincanada says:

      Thanks for your comment and support, Scott.

      Reply
    1. cooperstownersincanada – Kevin Glew is a professional writer based in London, Ontario. His work has been featured on CBC Sports, Sportsnet.ca, MLB.com and Sympatico.ca. He has also written articles for Baseball Digest, Baseball America, The Hockey News, Sports Market Report and the Canadian Baseball Network. He has been involved with the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame for more than 16 years, including a two-year stint as the museum's acting curator.
      cooperstownersincanada says:

      Thanks for your comment and support.

      Reply

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