How Josh and Bo Naylor arrived in the same major-league clubhouse

Ninety-seven pairs of brothers have played together on the same team in major-league history.

Bo and Josh Naylor became the 96th pair when Bo debuted late in the 2022 season. Only Taylor and Tyler Rogers have come after.

It's an extremely rare occurrence to reach the major leagues as brothers, let alone as teammates. What's rarer still is the Naylors are Canadian - natives of Mississauga, a Toronto suburb.

They also have a younger brother, 19-year-old Myles, who was selected by the Oakland A's last year in the Comp A round of the draft. All three brothers were drafted out of St Joan of Arc Catholic. What's in the water in Mississauga?

Josh, 27, is enjoying a career-best season as he's unlocked his power and become an All-Star. Bo, a top-100 prospect entering last season, has mostly struggled after an encouraging rookie campaign. Still, the 24-year-old is showing some signs of warming recently and is regarded as the club's future at catcher.

How did these Canadian brothers end up in the same MLB clubhouse?

The story begins like it does with so many young Canadians: with hockey.

"The two (sports) provide some significant similarities between the swing and rotation," Bo told theScore. "That kind of stuff plays a lot. I feel like it was a big part in us developing our athleticism, kinda helping us translate to become the players we are today."

Bo's first love was hockey. Pavel Datsyuk was his favorite player to watch growing up, and he watched the Red Wings often on television. (He watches plenty of Maple Leafs games, too.)

"Hockey is such a fast-twitch game," Josh said. "You have to keep your head up and know everything that is going on. You have to be aware of where the puck is at all times. The hand-eye coordination. I think hockey taught us to be good at baseball. "

But their father's passion is baseball, and it became Josh's, and then Bo's.

There was something about the pace of the game, what Josh describes as its "chess match" nature, that appealed to him.

"Baseball is very methodical, very phycological, which I try to pass down to my brother just how psychological the game is," Josh said.

As kids, there was constant competition, constant play. What they most vividly recall are the intense Whiffle ball games in their driveway and neighboring park. Bo followed Josh to the Ontario Blue Jays, a youth baseball program in Mississauga, playing on their travel teams and training at the indoor facility.

It was the giant indoor space, with its artificial turf field and batting cages, that helped them overcome the harsh winter climate of Ontario - at least in comparison to baseball hotbeds in the southern and western U.S. where climate doesn't prohibit practice.

"We were in there from pretty much the beginning of the offseason," Bo said.

That cycle of practicing against each other, and then with high-level amateurs with the Ontario Blue Jays, produced two major leaguers, and possibly a third in Myles.

The Naylors had a great advantage similar to the sons of major leaguers, whose kids reach the majors at a far greater rate than the general population. It's not only because they share rare genetics, but they also copy elite movement patterns through motor learning and see firsthand the type of work needed to reach the highest levels.

However, Josh also played an important role as the eldest brother.

"I went through a lot as a youth," Josh said. "I thank God he made me an older brother, so I ... go through those situations first. I just tried to guide him the right way. As an older brother, you make the mistakes and pass (along) to your brothers how to handle those situations."

What did Bo most learn from his brother?

"Just his determination," Bo said. "When he sets his mind on something, he grinds and works at it until he achieves it, and then it's on to the next thing. He just continues to bear down and be the best player he can be through any challenge. In this game, there are a lot of challenges you face. I think at a young age, having that mindset, and seeing that firsthand, definitely helped me along the way. "

Josh continues to get better.

Always in possession of rare contact skills and raw power, the elder Naylor learned to drive more balls into the air to his pull side. He already owns a career-best 22 home runs at the All-Star break.

Naylor said he never looks at Statcast or underlying data. He never watches videos of his swing or does film analysis. He simply grinds away to reach new goals.

After countless swings and more experience at the major-league level, he's gained more understanding of how to transition his raw power to game power.

"If you are good with bat-to-ball skills ... you can angle the ball better because your practice is so detailed on those bat-to-ball skills," Josh said. "You understand how your body works and your barrel works."

Despite Bo's struggles this year (he's recorded a .208/.275/.348 slash line and 0.9 fWAR after producing a .237/.229/470 slash line and 2.1 fWAR last season), he has someone nearby who also went through early scuffles. Josh posted a 71 wRC+ in his sophomore campaign and produced just 0.2 career WAR through his first three partial major-league seasons.

But perhaps Bo is warming up. He's homered twice in his last week of games, including a pivotal go-ahead, three-run shot against the San Francisco Giants. He wants to join his brother in an All-Star Game clubhouse down the road.

Not only do they spend their workdays together, but they are inseparable off the field.

"Almost every minute is with him," Bo said. "We grew up that way; we are very close. We are always around each other."

How do they spend their time?

"Playing more baseball," Bo says of video game baseball. "MLB on PlayStation, NBA. If it is not that, it is Fortnite. Lots of video games."

They're soaking up this experience together as they know playing careers are often short - and time together in the same major-league clubhouse may be shorter. While Bo is under club control for five more campaigns, Josh is set to become a free agent after next season. The small-budget Guardians aren't known for competing in free agency and have several first base prospects in their system, including Kyle Manzardo and C.J. Kayfus.

"We understand this time won't be forever," Bo said, "and we try to take advantage of it."

Travis Sawchik is theScore's senior baseball writer.