Drew Roy Naylor (born 31 May 1986) is an Australian former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, who attempts to e ...

. Naylor pitched for the

Chunichi Dragons The are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chūbu region of Japan. The team plays in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. They have won the Central League pennant nine times (most recently in ...

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formatio ...

from 2015 to 2016. He played in the

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in N ...

system of the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has been Citize ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

franchise, as well as stints with the

Brisbane Bandits The Brisbane Bandits are a professional baseball team in Brisbane, Queensland that plays in the Australian Baseball League and is one of the six founding teams of the league. From the 2010/11 season till the 2012/13 season their home ballpark ...

in the

Australian Baseball League The Australian Baseball League (ABL) is a professional baseball league in Australia. The league is governed by the Australian Baseball Federation (ABF). It uses the same name as a now-defunct competition held during the 1990s, and though it ...

and the

Kagawa Olive Guyners The are a professional baseball team in the Shikoku Island League Plus of Japan. Established in 2005, the Guyners play at Olive Stadium in the Kagawa Prefectural Baseball Complex in Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture. They won the 2006, 2007, 2008, ...

in the independent

Shikoku Island League Plus The is an independent professional baseball league on the island of Shikoku in Japan. (None of the teams in Nippon Professional Baseball are based in Shikoku.) The league currently has four teams, and has its league headquarters in Takamatsu. T ...

. He was also selected to represent Australia at the

2009 World Baseball Classic The 2009 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international baseball competition. It began on 5 9 and finished 5 26. Unlike in 2006, when the round-robin format of the first two rounds led to some eliminations being decided by run-difference t ...

Early life

Naylor was educated at

Anglican Church Grammar School The Anglican Church Grammar School (ACGS), formerly the Church of England Grammar School and commonly referred to as Churchie, is an independent, Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican, Day school, day and boarding school for boys, located in East ...

East Brisbane East Brisbane is an inner southern suburb of the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , East Brisbane had a population of 5,934 people. Geography East Brisbane is located south-east of the CBD. It is mostly residential, with some ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

.Baseball Reference (Minors)
/ref>

Career

Philadelphia Phillies

Naylor made his Minor League debut in 2006 and then spent 2006 and 2007 with the

GCL Phillies The Florida Complex League Phillies are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Phillies. The team plays ...

and the

Williamsport Crosscutters The Williamsport Crosscutters are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and play their home games at Muncy Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field. From 1994 to 2020, they were ...

. He spent the 2008 season with two teams, playing for the

Lakewood BlueClaws The Jersey Shore BlueClaws (formerly Lakewood BlueClaws) are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Lakewood, New Jersey, and are named for their locati ...

and the

Clearwater Threshers The Clearwater Threshers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Clearwater, Florida, and have played their home games at BayCare Ballpark since 20 ...

, going 5–3 in 14 games in Lakewood. Naylor was also on the

roster for Australia. In late 2010 Naylor played the second half of the season in the

, making his debut on 22 December 2010 in Melbourne where he gave up a two-run home run in two innings of relief at the batter-friendly

Melbourne Showgrounds Melbourne Showgrounds is located in the inner north-western suburb of Ascot Vale, Victoria, Australia, next door to Flemington Racecourse. The largest and most flexible indoor/outdoor venue space in Melbourne the Showgrounds is the home of the an ...

. He finished the season with a 3.21 ERA over 14 innings including two starts. In 2011, he started a Phillies spring training game against Florida State University, picking up the win in a scoreless outing. He missed the entire 2011 season after undergoing

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's ...

, and was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the play ...

by the Phillies on 16 September 2011. He was then released from the Phillies as a free agent in November 2012.

Brisbane Bandits

In 2014, Naylor returned to

and pitched in three games, with 13 strikeouts in 13.2 innings earning a 7.24

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Com ...

. He finished his tenure in the ABL with a 0–2 record.

Kagawa Olive Guyners

On 2 March 2015, it was announced that Naylor had signed for

in the independent

in Japan. Naylor made his debut in Japan in an inter-league match against

Ishikawa Million Stars The are a semi-professional baseball team in the Baseball Challenge League of Japan. The team was established in 2007. Their home is Ishikawa Prefecture. Former Major League Baseball star Julio Franco was the team's player-manager.Jun Hongo"Julio ...

where he threw 6 innings allowing only 3 hits and 0 runs. He was largely used as starting pitcher for the remainder of his tenure and recorded 4 wins, 1 loss, and 2 saves with an ERA of 1.37 and 55 strikeouts. He was selected and pitched for the Shikoku Island All-Stars in a tour of the

Can-Am League The Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball, commonly known as the Can-Am League, was a professional, independent baseball league with teams in the Northeast United States and Eastern Canada, founded in 2005 as a reorganization of ...

, and was then subsequently signed for the

in the

Chunichi Dragons

In his second start for the Dragons, Naylor threw 8 innings to register his first win as well as contributing with the bat by hitting a solo

homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the '' Iliad'' and the '' Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of ...

in the bottom of the 4th inning against the

Yakult Swallows The Tokyo Yakult Swallows () are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Yom ...

. After starting his second year with the Dragons in the starting rotation, his season was interrupted by elbow soreness when pitching against the

Yomiuri Giants The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They ...

on 6 May 2016 ruling him out for an unspecified amount of time. He attempted to get back to fitness with the Dragons Western League team but ultimately to no avail as a niggling shoulder issue ruled him out of the season. Naylor remained in Nagoya to undergo treatment with a view to staying with the Dragons through the 2017 season to help in the lead-up to the

2017 World Baseball Classic The 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, composed of 16 competing nations, held from March 6 to March 22, 2017. It was the fourth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. The first-round hosts ...

in March where he would be expected to represent Australia at the tournament. On 5 October 2016, it was reported new manager

Shigekazu Mori Shigekazu Mori (森繁和, born November 18, 1954 in Chosei, Chiba Prefecture) is a former Japanese professional baseball pitcher who played for the Seibu Lions in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball. He has held coaching positions at 4 diffe ...

had told Naylor that the team would not be renewing his contract. On 29 October, it was confirmed that Naylor would be released from the team along with

Ricardo Nanita Ricardo Michael Nanita (born June 12, 1981) is a Dominican former professional baseball outfielder. He played for the Chunichi Dragons of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), and for the Dominican Republic national baseball team. Amateur career Na ...

Juan Jaime Juan Jose Jaime Hernandez (born August 2, 1987) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves and with the Chunichi Dragons of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) Career Wa ...

Leyson Septimo Leyshon (also: Layson, Laysham, Leyson) is an Anglicized form of the Welsh language surname Lleision. The name originates from Glamorganshire, Wales and dates from the 6th Century Welsh/ Brythonic language. Notable people with the name include: ...

, and

Anderson Hernandez Anderson or Andersson may refer to: Companies * Anderson (Carriage), a company that manufactured automobiles from 1907 to 1910 * Anderson Electric, an early 20th-century electric car * Anderson Greenwood, an industrial manufacturer * Anderson Ra ...

Return to Brisbane Bandits

Following his release from the Dragons, Naylor teamed up once more with his hometown team the

in December 2016. He re-signed with the team for the 2018/19 season.

References

External links

NPB.jp

Brisbane Bandits Statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Naylor, Drew 1986 births Living people Australian expatriate baseball players in Japan Australian expatriate baseball players in the United States Baseball players from Brisbane Brisbane Bandits players Chunichi Dragons players Clearwater Threshers players Florida Complex League Phillies players Lakewood BlueClaws players Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Reading Phillies players Sportsmen from Queensland Williamsport Crosscutters players 2009 World Baseball Classic players North Shore Honu players