3x WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup alum, Canadian Josh Naylor makes MLB history
2012 WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup players Nayor and Shohei Ohtani both blasted their first-ever MLB grand slams on Monday, 9 May.
The WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup has consistently featured players who have gone on to become some of the biggest names in the sport
Josh Naylor, who competed for the Baseball Canada National Team in a record three WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cups (2012, 2013, and 2015), made history on Monday (9 May) when he became the first Major League Baseball (MLB) player with eight runs batted in (RBIs) in the eighth inning or later.
The 24-year-old left-handed slugger hit a grand slam with two outs in the ninth inning and a three-run homer in the eleventh, powering the Cleveland Guardians to a comeback 12-9 win against the Chicago White Sox on Monday. His eight RBI came with an eight-inning double.
The grand slam was the first in Naylor's MLB career and came off Australian All-Star closer Liam Hendriks.
Ohtani, 18 at the time, and Naylor, 15, faced off against each other in 2012 at the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup in Seoul, Korea:
Naylor's professional career began in 2015 when he was drafted 12th overall by the Miami Marlins. The Marlins traded him to the San Diego Padres in 2016. Naylor made his MLB debut in 2019. The Padres dealt him to the Guardians in a nine-player trade in August 2020.
The next WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup, which will be its 30th edition, will be held in the U.S. from 9-18 September in Sarasota and Bradenton, Florida.
