Video nPTI_C65JAc
What Happened
Cleveland Guardians first baseman Josh Naylor steps to the plate with the bases loaded and his team holding a one-run lead in a crucial division matchup against the Seattle Mariners. Facing Mariners pitcher Chris Silseff, Naylor is determined to drive in more runs rather than settle for a simple walk. The at-bat is a tense battle, with Silseff mixing his pitches effectively - a four-seam fastball, a cutter/slider, and a splitter. Naylor fouls off several tough pitches, refusing to give in to the Mariners' pitching. At one point, Naylor shakes his head, acknowledging that he should have hit a fastball he swung through earlier in the at-bat. As the count reaches 0-2, Silseff and the Mariners try a variety of approaches to get Naylor out, including painting the upper part of the strike zone. However, Naylor continues to foul off pitch after pitch, displaying his determination not to simply take a walk. "I don't want to walk," Naylor says. "I want to drive in two runs." Finally, on the 10th pitch of the at-bat, Silseff misses his target with a fastball, and Naylor drives it into the gap between the first and second basemen. The ball eludes both fielders, allowing two runs to score. Naylor pumps his fist, exclaiming, "Screw you, Billy Bean," a reference to the analytics-driven approach that often prioritizes walks over putting the ball in play. The crowd erupts in celebration, as Naylor's refusal to take the easy walk has paid off with a clutch, two-run hit that extends the Guardians' lead. The play showcases Naylor's competitive spirit and his belief that sometimes, a well-executed hit is better than a simple base on balls, especially in a high-leverage situation. The Guardians go on to secure the victory, further tightening their grip on the division race. Naylor's at-bat will be remembered as a gritty, determined display of a hitter refusing to be passive and instead taking matters into his own hands to deliver for his team.
Full Transcript
Click timestamps to jump to that momentSeattle is hunting the division. Josh Naylor is coming up to the plate. He's got bases loaded
and a one-run lead. Breakdown is brought to you by DraftKings, and he wants more than just one run.
He said, you know what? I'd like to drive in some runs here. I'm an RBI guy. A walk sounds boring.
Silseff on the mound, looking to get a double play ball. Escape the jam,
get it out. First pitch, fastball up top, swings through it. Quickly down,
0-1. Shakes his head, says, that is the pitch I should hit, not swing through. Okay, I'd like it
again. Gets it again. This time it's outside. Would have been ball one. He fouls it back. It's 0-2.
They stay with the fastball way up top to get the chase. Chases, actually gets barreled to it. He's
just behind. And now they decide, okay, maybe we go away from the fastball. And Naylor says,
I really want the fastball. I'll just foul off the other ones. That's a little cutter, slider,
I don't know what he calls it.
Takes in towards him. He fouls it back. It would have been ball three, mind you. Would have been
three and one had he not swung. It's 0-2. The next pitch, they go splitter, fouls that one back.
Actually a nice pitch in the zone. Swings at it, stays alive. Takes a little lap around. Pitch
clock seems like it's getting pretty loose these days. Look at the three-pitch mix from Silseff
here. He's got that triangle you love to see. One goes straight, one goes left, one goes right.
Batter's got to figure out what the hell's going on. Pretty good. Pretty good, especially since
Naylor's just reacting to the off-speed and just fouling off. That's another nice splitter in the
zone. Could have been strike three. Not. So he says, I want a new ball. I'm going to blame the
balls. I'm going to get this ball. And what do we throw now? It's still 0-2. He's chased like
five pitches out of the zone and he chases another one. That's the most egregious. That is ball six.
And he says, I'll just foul it. He's got that triangle. He's got that triangle. He's got that
off. I'm swinging. Back to ball. I don't want to walk. I want to drive in two runs. 0-2 pitch.
Another cutter, slider, breaking ball of sorts. Fouls that one. Still in there. So we've got
four-seam, four-seam, four-seam, sweeper, splitter, splitter, splitter, sweeper.
Now the catcher says, all right, he wants to swing at the fastball. Let's just get him to
swing through a fastball out of the zone. Gives him the target way up. We're going to go and give
him what he wants. Let's just make it unhittable. Look at that target. He's on,
one knee, and he missed the spot. It still was a ball. Naylor still fouls it off. That's ball six
that he has not allowed to be a ball by swinging at and fouling back. Next pitch,
they go splitter off of that, and he finally takes one. Interesting. Didn't chase that one.
Still got so many balls to spare. So they're saying, let's go back to the fastball now. We
raised his eyes. We lowered his eyes. And get up top. Look at the catcher. He wants up,
top again. He's not going to get it. It's in the zone. It's past the first baseman,
past the second baseman. One run scores. The second run scores. Two runs. Hit better than
a walk in that situation. And Josh Naylor knows it. He says, screw you, Billy Bean.
A hit's better than a walk. The crowd loves it. And that was Josh Naylor refusing to take a walk,
instead opting to put the ball in play and let what happens, happens. And it missed one glove,
and it missed the second.
And it almost, you know, maybe if first baseman gets it, does he turn the double play? Does he
snag it, pop up? Probably not. But it would have been an out. Thank you to DraftKings for
sponsoring this breakdown. Appreciate them. Appreciate you guys. Enjoy the rest of whatever
you're doing. Thanks, DraftKings.