The Human Tornado
Josh "the Human Tornado" Naylor lost his dang mind after crushing game-tying 9th-inning grand slam and three-run 11th inning bomb to take down the White Sox
The wacky baseball game of the night on Monday went down at Guaranteed Rate Field, where the Cleveland Guardians and Chicago White Sox played 11 innings of unhinged, unpredictable sports. The tone was set early when Sox right fielder Gavin Sheets dropped a routine line out in the first inning, resulting in someone on the broadcast crew blurting out “are you sh—tting me???” into a hot mic ...
... and continued all the way into the ninth, with the Guardians trailing 8-2. The game was all but over when suddenly the Guardians rose from the dead with a six-run frame, capped by this ridiculous, game-tying Josh Naylor grand slam.
We’d say it doesn’t get any crazier than that, but it does. Much, much crazier. The game would go to extras, and in the 11th, Naylor stepped to the plate again. He then clobbered another one to deep right—a three-run blast and his 7th RBI in the last two at-bats. Rounding the bases, Naylor became increasingly fired up with every step until he finally crossed home plate ready to explode (and explode he did).
“OH MAN, LOOK OUT! GET OUT OF HIS WAY!” bellows the Guardians broadcast in a call straight out of Hell in a Cell ‘98. “HE’S A HUMAN TORNADO!”
Nervous laughter and mildly terrified applause aside, you have to hand it to Naylor. He drove in eight of the Guardians’ 12 runs on Monday, including the tying runs in the ninth and the game-winners in the 11th. He was almost single-handedly responsible for the W—a win that takes the supposedly tanking Guardians above .500 on the season—and that deserves a celebration. We’re not sure “decapitate teammates by using helmet as ninja star” is the preferred approach of the clubhouse, but go on, Josh. You earned it.