TORONTO — Ontario resident Josh Naylor of the Seattle Mariners repeated in vain that the championship series against the Blue Jays was no different from any other, but we didn't believe it, and after the first two games played in Toronto, we believed it even less.
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You had to watch the Mississauga athlete make a few video calls on his phone from the visitors' bench hours before Monday's game in Toronto to know he was experiencing special moments. His guests were in large numbers at Rogers Center that evening, and he actually gave them his greatest gift by hitting a two-run homer in the seventh inning in a 10-3 Mariners victory. Thus, Naylor helped his team take a 2–0 lead against the Blue Jays in this 4-for-7 series.
“It was really cool to do that in front of my family,” he finally admitted hesitantly at Monday's postgame press conference. I'm very grateful that everyone is here, including a few friends. It was a great moment for them.”
Think about the team first
When Naylor was presented with the Mariners' trident for his long ball, there was loud applause from a section a few rows away from Seattle's bench. Naylor quickly greeted his men, highlighting the Canada Baseball logo tattooed on his right bicep without even noticing it.
Seattle Mariners player Josh Naylor took advantage of the American League Championship Series to reconnect with family members and many acquaintances on Monday, Oct. 13, 2025, in Toronto.
Photo by Benoit Rioux
Quebec's Russell Martin, a former Blue Jays player, hit a home run himself at Rogers Center during baseball's major playoffs in October 2016, but on Monday Naylor became the first Canadian-born player to accomplish such a feat in Toronto in a visiting uniform.
“He must have felt good walking the bases,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. There's a story here for him and his family, but I also know he thinks about the team and winning first. He still managed to do what he had to do in such an important match.”
“Small World”
Remember, Naylor, 28, comes from a baseball family in which three brothers were drafted in the first round of Major League Baseball. Beau plays for the Cleveland Guardians, and Miles, just 20 years old, continues to climb the ranks of the athletics organization.
Josh also played in Cleveland from 2020 to 2024 before ending up in Seattle last July. With the Blue Jays, the elder Naylor counts Miles Straw as one of his best friends and former teammates. He's excited that one of them will make it to the World Series soon, but the Ontario resident is making sure it's him and the Mariners.
“You never know where your dream might take you, what team you’ll play for or who your teammates will be, baseball is a small world,” Naylor philosophized.
With his two-run homer, Naylor collected three hits in the Mariners' win on Monday, but he knows full well the job is far from done against the Blue Jays, once his boyhood team. Game 3 will now take place Wednesday night in Seattle.
