Bo Naylor waited 263 days for the moment he finally earned on Wednesday night.
Well, he’d probably been waiting 23 years to pick up his first major league hit—which he did with an eighth-inning single against the A’s—but the wait had to have been even more excruciating for the Guardians rookie after he failed to pick up a hit in five games after making his big league debut last October.
Naylor went hitless in his first three games this season, too, before finally coming through with a clutch knock against Oakland on Wednesday. The hit, which allowed Myles Straw to advance from first to third in a one-run game, elicited loud cheers from the Cleveland crowd. One teammate was more excited than everyone else, though: Naylor’s older brother, Josh.
After Bo’s hit found a patch of open grass, television cameras showed Josh jumping up and down in the dugout with a massive grin on his face.
How precious! 🥹
Bo Naylor gets his first big league hit and his brother Josh LOVES it! pic.twitter.com/CetyClW4YH
— Bally Sports Cleveland (@BallySportsCLE) June 22, 2023
Bo went on to score the winning run in Cleveland’s 7–6 victory later in the inning. His clutch hit should be just the first of many memorable moments on the field for the Naylor brothers. Josh, who went 4-for-4 on Wednesday, is already an established big leaguer. Bo is a top prospect (ranked No. 44 in baseball by MLB.com) and is now set to be Cleveland’s starting catcher after the team released Mike Zunino. And they could be joined by another brother before too long. Myles, 18, is a third baseman who’s a top prospect for next month’s draft.
