Fastball

Cleveland Guardians' Josh Naylor Joins Exclusive List of Canadian Home Run Hitters

Josh Naylor crushed his 25th home run of the season on Wednesday, making the Cleveland Guardians first baseman the 10th Canadian-born player to reach the mark.

Sam Connon

Aug 7, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians first baseman Josh Naylor (22) rounds the bases after hitting a home run during the fifth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Progressive Field.
Aug 7, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians first baseman Josh Naylor (22) rounds the bases after hitting a home run during the fifth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Progressive Field. / Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
In this story:

The Cleveland Guardians may have lost both ends of their doubleheader against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday, but one of their top sluggers still managed to make history.

First baseman Josh Naylor went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in game one, then 0-for-3 with a walk and a run in game two. Cleveland, meanwhile, went on to fall 7-3 and 5-3 en route to their fourth and fifth consecutive losses.

Naylor's home run in game one was his 25th of the season. He is one of just two Cleveland batters to have more than 11 homers in 2024.

This marks Naylor's first season reaching the 25-home run threshold. In doing so, Naylor became only the 10th Canadian-born player in MLB history to record 25-plus home runs in a single season, per TSN's StatsCentre.

Joey Votto leads all Canadians with seven 25-home run seasons, while Jason Bay and Larry Walker each posted five. Justin Morneau, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Matt Stairs each did so three times and Corey Koskie did it twice.

Naylor, Guerrero and Tyler O'Neill are the only active players on the list, considering Votto is still working his way through the minors. Naylor is also the only Canadian to achieve the feat in a Cleveland uniform, as Heath was only able to do so as a member of the St. Louis Browns.

Naylor averaged just 11 home runs a year through his first five MLB seasons. His previous career-high came back in 2022, when he hit 20 home runs in 122 games.

This season, it took Naylor 72 games to reach that mark. The 27-year-old is on pace to finish 2024 with 35 home runs.

The first-time All-Star is currently batting .246 with 25 home runs, 82 RBI and an .809 OPS. He entered Wednesday with a 1.3 WAR.

Follow Fastball on FanNation on social media

Continue to follow our FanNation on SI coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following us on Twitter @FastballFN.

You can also follow Sam Connon on Twitter @SamConnon.

Published
Sam Connon

SAM CONNON

Sam Connon is a Staff Writer for Fastball on the Sports Illustrated/FanNation networks. He previously covered UCLA Athletics for Sports Illustrated/FanNation's All Bruins, 247Sports' Bruin Report Online, Rivals' Bruin Blitz, the Bleav Podcast Network and the Daily Bruin, with his work as a sports columnist receiving awards from the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon also wrote for Sports Illustrated/FanNation's New England Patriots site, Patriots Country, and he was on the Patriots and Boston Red Sox beats at Prime Time Sports Talk.

Home/History