Brothers, best friends and now, teammates: Naylors fulfill dream

October 7th, 2022

CLEVELAND -- Chris and Jenice Naylor rushed into their seats in section 156 on Sunday afternoon. Jenice pulled her phone out of her pocket, opened the camera and pressed “record” as she heard the Progressive Field public address announcer begin to list the Guardians’ lineup.

They patiently sat through the first few names before reaching the middle of the lineup.

Batting fourth, playing first base,

The voice briefly echoed through the walls of Progressive Field before the next announcement was made.

Batting fifth, the designated hitter,

Jenice’s smile could not possibly have grown wider. A row of friends and family beside her were all wearing No. 44 Naylor jerseys -- the newest addition to the Cleveland clubhouse. She and her husband, much like their children, were quiet and reserved, but clearly beaming with pride. They took a moment to let it sink in, although it was nearly impossible not to recognize what was happening.

“The dream’s there, but will it really happen?” Chris said.

To the Naylor family, it wasn’t that long ago that Josh, Bo and their youngest son Myles were all at their house, constantly competing in every activity.

“It didn’t matter what the sport was or the game was, they’d have a competition,” Chris said. “It could be who’d take the garbage out the best.”

Josh is the big brother -- three years older than Bo. The two were close enough in age to be best friends, to constantly be playing catch on the sidewalk and to ask their dad to take them to the cages (even on Christmas Day). But their ages were just enough apart that their sporting careers never overlapped … except for one day.

Chris was always the coach for his boys’ teams. Josh was 15 at the time and was getting ready for a game, but the team was in desperate need of one more player in order to get the game underway. Coach Dad turned to his younger son to help out.

“I got one at-bat and I ended up getting a single, and that’s the only game I’ve ever played with him,” Bo said. “To this day, I get to brag that I’m hitting 1.000 in that league, playing three years up.”

“Bragging rights. It’s always important in this family,” Jenice said with a big chuckle.

That could have been the only time the Naylor brothers shared the field in a competitive setting, as the two went their separate ways a few years later. Josh was drafted in the first round by Miami in 2015 before being traded to San Diego the next year. Bo followed in his big brother’s footsteps, getting selected in the first round by Cleveland in 2018. In 2020, the seeds of a potential dream come true were planted when Josh was traded to Cleveland -- the same organization that had his younger brother in its farm system.

“It brought a smile to your face to know that they’re there for each other,” Jenice said. “[Bo] is already there, so that kind of absorbed the blow. And the fact that they get along so well together, it was just the perfect scenario for Josh.”

With Bo spending a lot of time with Double-A Akron, he and Josh were able to get an apartment together, making it even easier for the eldest brother to try to help his younger sibling through his own professional career.

“I try to get him to learn from my past experiences, whether they're good or bad, so he doesn't fall into those issues or traps or whatever the case is,” Josh said, “I am like his learning experience, in a way.”

Bo had a rough season in 2021. He struggled offensively and stayed at Double-A all season. But this year, the Guardians big league coaching staff received glowing reports about Bo regularly, causing everyone (especially the Naylor family) to wonder if his first call up to the Majors was going to happen soon.

The idea of two brothers on the same big league squad was almost too good to be true. It was something the Naylors have dreamed about since the boys first started showing an interest in baseball. Josh had his own setback in 2021, suffering a gruesome, season-ending right leg injury. No one was certain how he would bounce back, and so a once seemingly inevitable dream that the two would eventually get to take the field together now seemed very much in doubt.

But as Bo was rebounding at Double-A and then Triple-A in 2022, Josh was rebounding from his injury at the big league level, getting stronger as the season progressed and becoming a key cog in the Guardians’ run to the postseason.

And then, Bo’s phone rang.

“In your mind, you’re prepared for it,” Jenice said. “We’re like, ‘OK, we’ll get the call sometime.’ But when it happens it’s like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is really happening.’”

Bo finally made his Major League debut on Saturday, with his brother sitting in the dugout and his parents in the stands. He got to experience what 16 other Cleveland rookies did this season. But most importantly, he was sharing a clubhouse with his brother.

“When we got home, it was just continuous smiles on their faces, and they couldn’t stop talking about the experience,” Jenice said. “To see your kids that happy, it’s an incredible feeling.”

The next day, Guardians manager Terry Francona knew the Naylor family was in the crowd and decided to bat the brothers consecutively in the order.

“This is so surreal,” Jenice said after the lineup announcements were made at Progressive Field. “Like honestly, it’s so hard to describe. It brings tears to my eyes. It’s just amazing.”

If the two are both on the postseason roster and get into a game, they will be the 13th set of brothers to do so in the playoffs, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Everything that was a fantasy just one week ago is suddenly becoming a reality -- and on baseball’s biggest stage.

“We're best friends,” Josh said. “It's been a perfect scenario.”