August 27, 2026
Official Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame News Release
Seattle Mariners first baseman Josh Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) will be presented with the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum’s 2025 Tip O’Neill Award in a ceremony prior to the Toronto Blue Jays game at the Rogers Centre on Friday.
The St. Marys, Ont.-based shrine presents this honour annually to the Canadian player judged to have excelled in individual achievement and team contribution while adhering to baseball’s highest ideals.
Naylor, who topped Canadian major leaguers in multiple offensive categories in 2025, is a second-time winner of the award. He also captured the honour in 2023.
He staved off strong competition from fellow major leaguers Nick Pivetta (Victoria, B.C.), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Montreal, Que.) and Cade Smith (Abbotsford, B.C.) to secure the honour.
“Josh Naylor was outstanding in both the regular season and postseason in 2025. His combination of power and base-stealing ability made him one of the biggest offensive threats in the majors and his energy and passion for the game of baseball is contagious,” said Scott Crawford, the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame’s director of operations. “He also continues to be a wonderful role model through the many charities he supports.”
Splitting his season between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Mariners, Naylor topped all Canadian major leaguers in batting average (.295), RBIs (92) and stolen bases (30). He also finished second among Canuck big leaguers in hits (160), runs (81), home runs (20), doubles (29) and walks (48).
Naylor was at his best in September with the Mariners battling for the American League West division title when he hit .364 and had a .982 OPS in 22 games.
In 2025, he also became just the fourth first baseman in MLB history and the second Canadian to record 20 home runs and 30 stolen bases in the same season (Larry Walker (Maple Ridge, B.C.) was the first with the Colorado Rockies in 1997).
In 12 games in the postseason, Naylor batted .340, with a .966 OPS and led the Mariners with 16 hits. He also set several Canadian postseason records, including becoming the first Canuck to have four, three-hit games in the same postseason. In Game 2 of the American League Championship Series, he belted a two-run home run to become the first Canadian to homer against the Blue Jays in Canada in the postseason.
Along the way, Naylor became a fan favourite with the Mariners and following the season, the team re-signed him to a five-year contract.
The 2025 campaign was Naylor’s seventh in the majors. After honing his skills with the Ontario Blue Jays and Junior National Team, Naylor was selected 12th overall by the Miami Marlins in the 2015 MLB draft.
During his career, Naylor has supported numerous charities.
“To be honoured with this award is extremely humbling. I am very thankful and honoured. I will continue to work and play hard to be a great example for the younger generations.” said Naylor in a statement.
The Hall’s Tip O’Neill Award is named after Woodstock, Ont., native James “Tip” O’Neill, who was one of Major League Baseball’s first legitimate stars. With the American Association’s St. Louis Browns in 1887, O’Neill set big league records in hits, doubles, slugging percentage and total bases, while compiling a major league record .492 batting average. Walks were counted as hits in 1887, but if O’Neill’s average was calculated by today’s standards, it would be .435.
To determine the winner of the Tip O’Neill Award, the Hall takes into account a number of criteria, including each candidate’s on-the-field performance, contributions to their team, community and charitable endeavors and their support in fan voting. The Hall also has a Tip O’Neill Award committee, consisting of a 24-person panel of Canadian baseball experts, that votes on the honour.
Past winners of the James “Tip” O’Neill Award:
1984 – Terry Puhl
1985 – Dave Shipanoff
1986 – Rob Ducey
1987 – Larry Walker
1988 – Kevin Reimer
1989 – Steve Wilson
1990 – Larry Walker
1991 – Daniel Brabant
1992 – Larry Walker
1993 – Rob Butler
1994 – Larry Walker
1995 – Larry Walker
1996 – Jason Dickson
1997 – Larry Walker
1998 – Larry Walker
1999 – Jeff Zimmerman
2000 – Ryan Dempster
2001 – Corey Koskie
2001 – Larry Walker
2002 – Eric Gagné
2002 – Larry Walker
2003 – Eric Gagné
2004 – Jason Bay
2005 – Jason Bay
2006 – Justin Morneau
2007 – Russell Martin
2008 – Justin Morneau
2009 – Jason Bay
2010 – Joey Votto
2011 – Joey Votto
2011 – John Axford
2012 – Joey Votto
2013 – Joey Votto
2014 – Justin Morneau
2015 – Joey Votto
2016 – Joey Votto
2017 – Joey Votto
2018 – James Paxton
2019 – Mike Soroka
2020 – Jamie Romak
2021 – Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
2022 – Jordan Romano
2023 – Josh Naylor
2024 – Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
2025 – Josh Naylor
I still don’t understand.—— Guerrero Jr has won the award twice as a dual citizen (Dominican) and has played for that country (I think twice) in the World Baseball Classic, BUT Freddy Freeman also a dual Canadian citizen (like Vladdy) and has actually played for Canada in the World Baseball Classic is apparently not eligible for the Tip O’Neill award. UNFAIR!
Hi David. Thanks for your comment. You make a good point. This seems like an age-old debate in Canadian baseball circles. The criteria has been that the player has to have been born in Canada or raised in Canada. But perhaps there needs to be more discussion about this.