Inside Naylor's 360-degree spinning throw to catch a runner stealing

KANSAS CITY -- There’s a first for everything, even a 360-degree spinning throw from behind the plate to catch a runner stealing second. Just ask Guardians catcher Bo Naylor.

The Guardians were in need of a momentum-changing play. They had just gotten seven stellar innings from rookie starter Gavin Williams and couldn’t break the scoreless tie. It took until the bottom of the eighth for the Royals to pose the first scoring threat, as Edward Olivares hit a leadoff double against reliever Trevor Stephan and Olivares’ pinch-runner, Dairon Blanco, stole third.

Cleveland appeared to be escaping the jam. Stephan got Nicky Lopez to hit an easy ground ball back to mound, and Blanco was running on contact. It was an easy out at the plate … until it wasn’t.

Stephan threw so far wide of Naylor that he didn’t stand a chance of securing it. It soared into the backstop, leaving Naylor to assume the runner was going to score (Blanco actually stopped for a second and almost didn’t score in time) as he chased after the ball and immediately turned to look for Lopez to try to salvage an out. The runner was safe at first. The run scored. And suddenly, the excitement that had built around Williams’ start was soured on a bad error.

But Naylor saved the day.

During the next at-bat, the Guardians called for a pitchout, knowing Lopez was ready to steal. Maybe it’s a little less impressive when a catcher throws out a runner on a pitch out than a regular offering, but when the ball goes in the complete opposite direction that the backstop is expecting, that changes things.

Naylor was popping out of his crouch as Stephan worked through his delivery. Naylor’s momentum was carrying him toward the outside portion of the plate -- where pitchouts usually are thrown. Instead, Stephan’s pitch ended up high and inside, which was the opposite direction Naylor was heading in. He reached across his body, made the snag, spun 360 degrees and fired to second base.

“​​He did a great job just getting a glove on that ball and then making the throw that he did,” Guardians bench coach DeMarlo Hale said.

The icing on the cake? The throw was in time to nab Lopez, turning the momentum back in Cleveland’s favor.

“That’s a first for me,” Naylor said with a grin. “As it was called, it was a pitchout, I had it in a different spot than expected, but I just tried to be athletic and make a good throw.”