The New York Yankees and Cleveland Guardians had some controversy in their head-to-head clash on Saturday.
With nobody out in the top of the third inning and Juan Soto on first base, Yankees slugger Aaron Judge flew out to center field. Soto was well off the first base bag and had to scramble back after Tyler Freeman made the catch.
The throw back to first baseman Josh Naylor beat Soto to the bag, but it took Naylor off the base. Naylor had to step back in front of the bag as a result, and he ultimately stood in Soto's way as the Yankees star tried to avoid a double play. Soto clearly did not like the fact that Naylor was in his way and shoved the Guardians first baseman to the ground.
Video via Talkin' Baseball:
Juan Soto was initially called safe on this play and then it was overturned pic.twitter.com/B4nVXXUe9S
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 13, 2024
Soto was initially called safe, however, the call was overturned after a review. That led to both Soto and Yankees manager Aaron Boone arguing since they felt Naylor obstructed Soto's path back to first base.
The Guardians likely did not love Soto's shove of Naylor. There has not been any retaliation as of this story's writing, but there has been tension between Naylor and the Yankees in the past. It should be noted that the drama between Naylor and New York did not involve Soto, as he was traded to the Yankees this past offseason.
Josh Naylor-Yankees history
The Guardians and Yankees battled in the 2022 ALDS. Naylor crushed a home run in Game 4 of the series and proceeded to break out the “rock the baby” celebration as he ran the bases. Cole did not seem to mind too much, but the Yankees certainly took notice.
Naylor's celebration led to Yankees fans serenading the Guardians first baseman with a “who's your daddy” chant at Yankee Stadium later in the series.
The Yankees ended up winning the series and infielder Gleyber Torres mocked Naylor's “rock the baby” celebration after the final out was recorded. Torres had words for Naylor and the Guardians after the series as well, via Bryan Hoch of MLB.com.
“Gleyber Torres said the Yankees thought Josh Naylor ‘rocking the baby' was ‘disrespectful.' ‘Revenge,' he said. ‘Now they can watch on TV,'” Hoch reported on X (formerly Twitter).
In the end, Naylor was a good sport about the situation.
“That was so sick. That was honestly like a dream come true as a kid,” Naylor said following the Guardians-Yankees playoff series in 2022, via Cole Harvey of ESPN. “Playing in an environment like this where they've got diehard fans, it's cool … The fact I got that going through the whole stadium, that was sick.”
There has not been many notable incidents between Naylor and the Yankees since. However, one has to imagine that the two sides aren't the biggest fans of one another given their history. One thing Cleveland fans know about Josh Naylor is that he performs at his best when he gets mad, so perhaps Soto's shove will lead to a big series at the plate for the Guardians slugger.
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