To Guardians’ Josh Naylor, American League All-Star, has a nice ring to it

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- There are a lot of things bubbling inside Josh Naylor.

One is the Incredible Bulk, the guy who hits himself in the batting helmet with the bat after hitting a home run. Who beats his opponent with a walk-off home run and head butts the manager in celebration. Who silences a rowdy crowd on the south side of Chicago by setting a major league record with eight RBI from the eighth through the 11th inning in a 12-9 victory over the White Sox.

Another is the soft-spoken, articulate veteran who speaks of team, team, team. Who unfurls a whole set of hand signals to the dugout whenever he reaches second base. The Marines had the Navajo Code Talkers in WWII. The Guardians have Naylor.

There is also the sleek, 180-pound leadoff hitter trapped inside a 5-11, 250-pound body. Naylor doesn’t run the bases, he conquers them in a cloud of dust and dirt. When Naylor dives headfirst into a base, there is a sense of imminent danger not only for the defender, but himself.

On Sunday one more log was added to the fire burning inside Naylor -- All-Star. Naylor, David Fry and Emmanuel Clase were named to the American League All-Star team as reserves. They will join teammates Jose Ramirez and Steven Kwan, who will be in the starting lineup on July 16 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.

Naylor probably should have made it last year, but didn’t. This year he leads AL first basemen with 21 homers and 66 RBI. He’s rides shotgun for Ramirez as the cleanup hitter for the team with the best record in the AL. It makes him hard to ignore.

“I give a lot of credit to my teammates,” said Naylor after Sunday’s 5-4 win over the Giants. “I think as a group we make each other better every single day and I think a lot of other players are more deserving (than me to be an All-Star).”

Naylor proceeded to name just about everyone in the Guardians’ bullpen, including rookies Hunter Gaddis, Cade Smith and Tim Herrin.

“I think a lot of us should be All-Stars and I’m grateful to be one and looking forward to representing this team and my teammates and coaches and this organization,” he said.

As it is the Guardians five All-Stars are the largest contingent of any AL team. The Phillies are sending seven from the National League.

Three years ago the chance for such a celebration for Naylor seemed far fetched.

He collided with second baseman Ernie Clement on June 27, 2021 in right field at Target Field in a game against the Twins. Naylor suffered a broken right ankle that had to be surgically repaired and cost him the rest of the season.

Some thought it may have cost him his career.

Iolnstead of finding a new line of work, Naylor got better. He hit .256 (115 for 449) with 20 homers and 79 RBI in 2022. In 2023, he hit .308 (139 for 452) with 17 homers and 97 RBI. This year he ranks third in the AL in RBI and fifth in homers.

On Sunday Naylor brushed off the injury, saying it wasn’t that bad. Anyone who saw it would disagree.

“With that injury my parents preached to me that you can either shut down and give up or fight through it and continue on,” said Naylor. “This is my dream as a kid to be in this situation, be in the big leagues.

“You just got to keep rolling with the punches and keep your head up and just keep moving forward. One step at a time, one foot forward at a time and things will be all right.”

The Naylors are a baseball family from Canada. Josh and brothers Bo and Myles were all No. 1 draft picks. The Marlins drafted Josh, Cleveland drafted Bo and the A’s drafted Myles.

In Sunday’s win over the Giants, Bo Naylor won the game with a three-run pinch-hit homer in the sixth inning.

“He’s worked so hard, I’m super happy for him,” said Bo Naylor when asked about his brother after the game. “I don’t know if I could really explain how deserving he is to be awarded with that.”

It sounds like the whole Naylor family will be headed to the All-Star Game. It is a busy three days for all involved.

Press conferences and batting practices for the AL and NL All-Stars are on Monday. The Home Run Derby takes place Monday night followed by an All-Star gala. On Tuesday, the players head to the ballpark via the red carpet ride through the streets of Arlington. The game follows and then it’s back to the regular season.

Naylor said he was not invited to participate in the Home Run Derby.

“I’m just going to go in there head high and experience it the way it’s meant to go,” said Naylor. “Hopefully I’m able to have my brothers there during the Home Run Derby on the field. Maybe my dad, too.

“Just experience it with my family and have them be a part of it. I think it would be super fun and a unique experience for all of us.”

It’s definitely one he’s earned.