‘Nayl-ed It': NY Yankees, Wives Get Last Laugh in Viral ‘Baby-Rocking’ Feud

On Tuesday night, the New York Yankees defeated the Cleveland Guardians in Game 5 of the ALDS, eliminating Cleveland from playoff contention.

As the final out was made in the ninth inning, the ball ended up in the glove of New York infielder, Gleyber Torres. Normally, players who catch the final out of a given playoff series will raise their hands in the air, jump up-and-down, and begin to scream.

Torres did none of this, choosing instead to make a gesture directly toward the Cleveland bench. The gesture was a response to something done earlier in the series, and was a true last laugh at the expense of the team who's season had just ended.

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Gleyber Torres "Rocks the Baby" as New York Eliminates Cleveland from Playoffs

It all began in Game 4 of the series between the Yankees and Guardians on Sunday night.. In the bottom of the fourth inning, with the Yankees leading by two runs, Josh Naylor hit a solo home run off of Gerrit Cole, and directed a very interesting celebration at the Yankees' ace.

Here's a video of the exchange:

In the celebration, Naylor referred to himself as Gerrit Cole's daddy. It was a very bizarre display, because even though Naylor had just homered, his team was still losing by a run, and would end up losing the game.

The teams would return to New York, and two days later, Naylor's season was over.

In response to this seemingly unprovoked celebration from Josh Naylor, New York Yankees' infielder Gleyber Torres appeared to take exception. As Game 5 came to a close, and the Yankees began their winning celebration, Torres capped of the game with the same celebration, directed at the entire Guardians' bench.

Here's Torres' rendition of it:

The mockery of Naylor and the Guardians didn't stop there. A video was posted on Twitter, and dug up by Talkin' Yanks, showing the New York Yankees' wives and girlfriends doing their own rendition of the now-viral Naylor nonsense.

Here's them, wishing the Guardians a metaphorical bon voyage:

I must say, all of this was executed to near perfection by the New York Yankees.

I'll take it a step further: I want to see way more of this in the game of baseball moving forward. As long as it doesn't cross the line or become overly offensive, playful taunting in sports should be welcomed. It's entertaining for the fans, and it can strengthen rivalries between players, teams and cities.

Josh Naylor made his bed, and Gleyber Torres made him and Cleveland lay in it. What an incredible way to end a very competitive series in The Bronx.