WATCH: Cleveland Guardians first baseman Josh Naylor brings out rock-the-baby celebration against the New York Yankees; gets obliterated by MLB fans on Twitter after team's loss
The Cleveland Guardians fell to the New York Yankees in Game 4 of the American League Division Series with a final scoreline of 4-2. Gerrit Cole produced a masterclass on the mound and the Yankees lived to fight another day.
What will be remembered in the footnotes of history, though, wasn't how Cole produced a solid outing against the Guardians, nor Harisson Bader's two-run home run that gave the Bombers the lead. What will be remembered and debated for a long time was Cleveland Guardians first baseman Josh Naylor's rock-the-baby celebration when he homered off Gerrit Cole's glove.
Josh Naylor just rocked the baby around the bases and called Gerrit Cole “his little fucking son” while rounding 3rd.
https://t.co/7iOpZG920z
"Josh Naylor just rocked the baby around the bases and called Gerrit Cole “his little f****** son” while rounding 3rd." - @ Barstool Sports
Naylor, not known for holding his emotions back, milked every single moment of his solo home run against Gerrit Cole in the fourth inning that trimmed the Yankees' lead to one. He mocked and gestured towards Cole and was visibly hyped while rounding the base paths.
This left a bitter taste in the mouths of many, as the majority of fans and spectators thought it was disrespectful and crude given the fact that his team was still trailing during that moment.
This is wild.
Josh Naylor was rounding the bases rocking a baby and calling Gerrit Cole his son. I’m a fan of bat flips and celebrating your work, but don’t make it disrespectful. This is quite disrespectful.
https://t.co/tJxN9UDJry
I want Josh Naylor getting 100 MPH right to his temple
@BRWalkoff Bros a dork
@barstoolsports I would have thrown the ball at him rounding 3rd
Naylor also mouthed off to the Cleveland dugout that Cole was his "little son." After the Cleveland Guardians lost, fans had a field day lambasting Naylor's showboating antics.
@BRWalkoff @BleacherReport Really cringe on a cringe team
@TalkinYanks https://t.co/1T1Pwjh7tg
@BRWalkoff @BleacherReport Being still down a run and doing this is crazy bruh 😭
@barstoolsports There’s a fine line between having fun and flat out disrespecting someone and he crossed it. If he gets hit next at bat he should have no complaints.
The Yankees would have the last laugh as Cole replied in a press conference after the game that he paid no mind to the celebration and just thought it was cute and funny.
Cleveland Guardians against the odds
Making their first appearance since changing their name and rebranding, the Guardians will have a tall task on the road against the New York Yankees.
The team hadn't gotten past the ALDS since 2016 wherein they reached the World Series and were moments away from breaking their generation-old title drought. The Guardians have failed to get past the Yankees in their two previous postseason series. The last time they defeated the Bombers was back in 2007 when they toppled them in the ALDS in four games.
Just in case the Guardians advance, they will have their hands full facing off against the best team in the postseason (at least on paper) in a possible matchup with the Houston Astros.