Inside The Pinstripes

Josh Naylor Trolls Gerrit Cole With Rock the Baby Celebration After Game 4 Home Run

Naylor's home run in the fourth inning of Game 4 cut the Guardians' deficit to one run.

Max Goodman

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CLEVELAND — After homering off Gerrit Cole in Game 4 of the American League Division Series on Sunday night, Guardians designated hitter Josh Naylor trolled the Yankees ace as he sprinted around the bases. 

Cleveland's slugger rocked the baby multiple times. It didn't take a lip reading specialist to decipher what Naylor said either. 

Naylor was spotted calling Cole his "little f—ing son." 

According to Mandy Bell of MLB.com, who previously spoke with Guardians starter Triston McKenzie about Naylor's home run celebrations, the lefty has called other pitchers his son after homering off them this season.

"Nayls, when he hits homers off people, he calls them his son. Hence the rocking the baby as he runs around the bases," McKenzie said, per Bell. 

Naylor entered play hitting .267 (4-for-15) with 2 HR against Cole in his career. He was 0-for-3 against the right-hander in Game 1.

The home run, coming in the fourth inning, cut Cleveland's deficit to just one run, making it a 3-2 ballgame. It was a missile to right-center field, a 405-foot homer that left Naylor's bat at 110.3 mph. 

Cole has now given up 35 home runs in 2022. He led the American League with 33 home runs allowed in the regular season, the most of his career in a single season. The lone run that Cole gave up in Game 1 was a solo shot off the bat of leadoff man Steven Kwan.

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Max Goodman
MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Yankees for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. Goodman has been on the Yankees beat for three seasons. He is also the publisher of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Jets site, Jets Country. Before starting Inside The Pinstripes, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. At school, Goodman was an anchor and reporter with NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. While at Northwestern, Goodman interned with MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman. You can connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.

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