Josh Naylor‘s home run in Game 4 of the ALDS sparked an interesting little saga between the New York Yankees and the Cleveland Guardians.
After taking Yankees ace Gerrit Cole deep in Game 4, Naylor motioned towards Cole and pretended to rock a baby, calling him his “son.”
Naylor continued his dance as he rounded second and yelled towards the Guardians dugout.
In the end though, the Yankees got the last laugh as they defeated the Guardians, 5-1, in yesterday’s Game 5 to advance to the ALCS for the first time since 2019.
After the final out was made at second base, Gleyber Torres performed the baby rocking motion.
When asked about it after the game and how he felt about Naylor showing up Cole, he had this to say.
Gleyber Torres said the Yankees thought Josh Naylor “rocking the baby” was “disrespectful.”
“Revenge,” he said. “Now they can watch on TV.”
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) October 19, 2022
Yankees Defeat Guardians, Move On To ALCS
Naylor sparked a bit of a saga between the two teams, but in the end, it was the Yankees who came out on top.
Now, the Guardians season is over and as Torres alluded to, they’ll be watching the rest of the postseason from the couch.
It’s as if Naylor’s celebration galvanized the Yankees.
The Yankees are moving onto the ALCS, and Naylor’s celebration ultimately came back to bite him and the Guardians in a classic case of celebrating too early.
They’ll feed off of it for the rest of the postseason, depending on if they’re able to overcome the Houston Astros in the ALCS.
That series gets underway tonight and will air on TBS.
But Naylor’s celebration only fueled the Yankees further.
New York got the last laugh, and they’ll live to fight another day.
Jameson Taillon will get the start for them tonight in Game 1 of the ALCS against Justin Verlander.
NEXT: Yankees Fans Had The Perfect Josh Naylor Troll