Cleveland Guardians: Now I am become Josh Naylor, the destroyer of baseballs

Josh Naylor had a game for the ages, driving in eight runs and leading the Guardians to a 12-9 victory over the Chicago White Sox.

Well that’s about as great a game as you’re ever going to see.

Down 8-2 in the ninth inning Monday night, the Cleveland Guardians would go on to beat the Chicago White Sox 12-9 in extra innings thanks to a performance by Josh Naylor that has never been seen before in baseball history.

With a game-tying grand slam in the ninth and a three-run home run in the eleventh inning, Naylor became the first player in major-league history to hit two 3+ run home runs in the ninth inning or later and the only player to ever put up 8+ RBIs in the eighth inning or later since the RBI became an official stat.

Naylor’s eight RBIs also tied him for the most RBIs in a single game by a Canadian-born player.

By now, you’ve probably seen the highlights, but let’s check them out again for good measure:

Naylor’s night and his raw, emotion-packed response is what makes baseball such a special game. On a random Monday night in May, Naylor did something that set the baseball world on fire, something so thrilling it no doubt left the Cleveland fans who stayed up wired for another few hours. And it epitomized everything great about the sport that we love.

On the season now, Naylor is hitting a robust .338/.370/.574 with four home runs, 21 RBIs and a 180 OPS+. The stats alone are of course excellent, but it’s all the more impressive considering how hard Naylor has worked to come back from a devastating leg injury last season. José Ramírez  might be the heart and soul of the Guardians, but Naylor is right there as an inspiring, galvanizing force for the clubhouse.

He is already a true leader for this young Guardians team, and all of his hard work to get back on the field paid off in one of the most exciting games in recent memory.