The Cleveland Guardians faced New York Yankees last year in American League Division series. An incident during the Game 4 prompted a huge controversy. Josh Naylor, Cleveland’s first baseman, hit a home run against Yankees starting pitcher Gerrit Cole. As soon as Josh reached the second base, he did a wild “rock the baby” gesture to celebrate his homer. However, his antics did not go down well with the Yankees fans present in the stadium.
The Bronx Bombers won Game 4, and the battle moved to Game 5. The fans across the stadium erupted in “who’s your daddy” chants throughout the game to heckle Josh. Apparently, the fans believed Josh purposely did the celebration to hit out at Gerrit Cole and that it was distasteful. Moreover, the Yanks won that game, too, and ended Cleveland’s journey in the series. Now, a year later, Josh comes out to issue an explanation of the whole controversy and reveals his true intentions.
The Celebration Was Not Directed To Gerrit Cole, Clarifies Josh Naylor
After almost a year of controversy, Josh Naylor came out to reveal his side of the story. The Yankees fan alleged that Josh did the “rock the baby” celebrations to sledge Gerrit Cole, which was disrespectful according to them. However, Josh reveals his true intention and clarifies the whole issue. Josh said his celebrations were directed to his teammates sitting on the bench. The baseman apparently wanted to fire up his teammates with the aggressive celebration.
Josh further added he was doing these gestures throughout the tournament. But with the Yankees, it came out pretty aggressively. Moreover, Josh claimed that everyone apart from the Yankees fans took it positively and found it funny. Moreover, Naylor affirmed he has no regrets as the gestures were done in the right spirits from his end. The baseman even blamed the media for the wrongful portrayal of his actions.
“It was more so to get the guys fired up,” says Josh Naylor.
Gerrit Cole To Lead The Yankees’ Pitching Rotation In 2023
Cole has been one of the most valuable pitchers for the New York Yankees for a while now. Eyeing his contributions, the Bombers offered him a nine-year deal worth $324 million in 2019, the biggest ever offered to a pitcher in MLB history. Moreover, Cole holds the record for the most strikeouts in a single season for the Yankees as well as the Astros.
Meanwhile, apart from Cole, the Yankees signed Carlos Rodon in a six-year deal to futher strengthen the pitching rotation. Both Cole and Rodon will lead the rotation in the 2023 season. However, the Yanks received their first blow just before the spring training as Frankie Montas injured his shoulder. Moreover, he will likely miss the entire first month and beyond of the upcoming MLB season.
