JOSH NAYLOR

Cleveland Guardians slugger Josh Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) has been named the winner of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum’s 2023 Tip O’Neill Award.

Canada’s baseball shrine presents this honour annually to the Canadian player judged to have excelled in individual achievement and team contribution while adhering to baseball’s highest ideals.

Naylor, who topped Canadian major leaguers in several offensive categories in 2023, is a first-time winner of the award. He staved off strong competition from fellow major leaguers Jordan Romano (Markham, Ont.), Edouard Julien (Quebec City, Que.), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Montreal, Que.) and Matt Brash (Kingston, Ont.) to secure the honour.

“Josh Naylor had his best major league season in 2023 and his energy and enthusiasm for the game of baseball make him so much fun to watch,” said Jeremy Diamond, chair of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame’s board of directors. “He has also become a wonderful role model through his work with the Ronald McDonald House and other charities. We’re proud to recognize him with this award.”

Despite missing more than a month with an oblique injury, Naylor topped all Canadian big leaguers in batting average (.308), slugging percentage (.489), OPS (.843), doubles (31), RBIs (97) and stolen bases (10). In all, in 121 games with the Guardians, he had 139 hits.

His 97 RBIs were the eighth in the American League and he also ranked in the top 10 in the AL with seven sacrifice flies (seventh) and nine intentional walks (fourth). His .308 batting average was the sixth highest batting average in the major leagues for players who suited up for at least 120 games.

For the Guardians, Naylor led the team in batting average, slugging percentage, OPS, OPS+ (133) and RBIs. He also made major league history on July 14 when he and his younger brother, Bo, became the first brothers to belt home runs for the same team in the same inning. In the third inning of that contest against the Texas Rangers, after outfielder Myles Straw reached on a single to begin the inning, Bo hit a two-run home run to right field. Four batters later, Josh followed with a two-run homer of his own.

For his efforts in 2023, the older Naylor garnered a 10th place vote in the American League MVP voting, which made him the 22^nd Canadian ever to receive a major league MVP vote.

The 2023 campaign was Naylor’s fourth with the Guardians. After honing his skills with the Ontario Blue Jays and Junior National Team, Naylor was selected 12^th overall by the Miami Marlins in the 2015 MLB draft. After tenures in the Marlins and San Diego Padres organizations, he was traded to the Guardians, along with fellow Canadian Cal Quantrill (Port Hope, Ont.), on August 31, 2020.

Since joining the Guardians, Naylor has been a regular at charitable events. In 2023, he started the Cooking with Naylor program at the Ronald McDonald House which supplies baseball-themed boxed lunches to children and parents staying in the facilities and in Ronald McDonald Family Rooms in Cleveland-area hospitals.

In the off-season, Naylor has also supported the Shoe Box Project, which fills shoeboxes with gifts for women in emergency shelters and temporary housing in the Greater Toronto Area.

“Being on the same list as all those previous winners is an honour and what makes receiving this award even more special. The fact I was even nominated was an honour knowing who this award represents.” said Josh Naylor

Details about the presentation of the 2023 Tip O’Neill Award will be announced in the coming months.

To determine the winner of the Tip O’Neill Award, the Hall takes into account a number of criteria, including each candidate’s on-the-field performance, contributions to their team, community and charitable endeavors and their support in fan voting. The Hall also has a Tip O’Neill Award committee, consisting of a 23-person panel of Canadian baseball experts, that votes on the honour.