Mike Napoli, Retired


Date of Birth: 10/31/1981
Birthplace: Hollywood, Florida

Mike Napoli, retired first baseman, was first drafted by the Los Angeles Angels in 2000. From 2000 through 2005, he played in the minor leagues. Napoli suffered from injuries starting in 2006 and he played with the Angels in just 99 games that season, 75 games in 2007, and 78 games in 2008. His first full season as a catcher with the Angels was in 2010 when he played in 140 games. That season, he batted .238 with 108 hits, 24 doubles, and 26 home runs.

In January, 2011, Napoli was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays but after just four days, the Blue Jays traded him to the Texas Rangers. He played in just 113 games with the Rangers in 2011. In February, 2012, Napoli signed a one-year, $9.4 million contract with the Rangers. After playing in 108 games in 2012, Napoli became a free agent.

Napoli signed a one-year, $5 million contract with the Boston Red Sox prior to the 2013 season. In 2013, he batted .259 with 23 home runs and career highs in hits (129), doubles (38), and RBIs (92) in 139 games.

Napoli signed a new two-year, $32 million contract with the Red Sox in December, 2013. He finished the 2014 season with 103 hits, 20 doubles, 17 home runs, 55 RBIs, and a .248 batting average in 119 games.

In 2011, Napoli started playing first base as well as being the Rangers' catcher. With the Red Sox, he was moved permanently to first base in 2013.

Napoli returned to the Rangers in a trade on August 7, 2015. He finished the 2015 season with 91 hits, 20 doubles, 18 home runs, 50 RBIs, and a .224 batting average in 98 games with the Red Sox and 35 games with the Rangers. As a first baseman, he made 71 assists, 77 double plays, 851 putouts, and 7 errors in 111 games. He batted .143 with 1 hit and 1 RBI in 7 at-bats in 4 postseason games.

Napoli signed a contract with the Cleveland Indians on January 5, 2016. He had a good 2016 season, finishing with career highs in hits (133), home runs (34), and RBIs (101). He had 22 doubles and a .239 batting average in 150 games. Defensively, as the Indians' first baseman in 98 games, he made 52 assists, 64 double plays, 831 putouts, and 13 errors. In the postseason, he batted .173 with 9 hits and 3 RBIs in 52 at-bats in 15 games.

Napoli became a free agent on November 3, 2016. He signed a one-year contract to return to the Rangers on February 16, 2017. The contract includes a club option for 2018. He had a poor season in 2017, finishing with a career low batting average of .193. He had 82 hits, 29 home runs, 66 RBIs, and 163 strikeouts to 49 walks in 124 games. Defensively, as the Rangers' first baseman in 95 games, he made 44 assists, 92 double plays, 748 putouts, and 7 errors.

Napoli became a free agent on November 6, 2017. He signed a minor league contract with the Indians on February 28, 2018. He played just eight games in the minors in 2018, spending the rest of the time on the DL.

Napoli elected free agency on November 2, 2018. He retired a month later, on December 8, 2018.

Career batting statistics for Napoli through 2018 include:

  • 1,392 games played
  • 1,125 hits
  • 224 doubles
  • 267 home runs
  • 744 RBIs
  • 1,468 strikeouts to 650 walks
  • .246 batting average

Career fielding statistics for Napoli at first base through 2018 include:

  • 678 games played
  • 403 assists
  • 488 double plays
  • 5,209 putouts
  • 51 errors
  • .991 fielding percentage

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Mike Napoli
ESPN - Mike Napoli