Thank you, Mike Napoli!

[curly2]

Of all the players on the 2013 Red Sox, I was happiest for Mike Napoli when they won the World Series. He probably would have been the MVP of the 2011 Series if the Rangers hadn't blown it, and he seems like a really good guy.
 
Game 1 is the only World Series game I've ever attended, and a wonderful night, thanks in large part to Napoli setting the tone early.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdX6pLxuVjU
 
Thanks, Nap. Good luck back in Texas.
 
 

 

[Laser Show]

I used to hate Nap. Watching him send bomb after bomb over the monster every time he came to town was so frustrating.

Watching him do it for us, though, was fantastic. One of my favorite guys to root for, and you could clearly tell how much winning here in 13 meant to him.

Gonna miss you Nap. Enjoy Texas. And keep killing the Angels.

 

[CarolinaBeerGuy]

Thanks, Mike, for 2013. You killed it and walked around drunk like an animal. You deserve this. Best of luck in the future.

 

[canderson]

You'll always be loved in Boston, Nap.

I hope the change in scenery gets you right and you start destroying the ball again.

 

[Rasputin]

Thanks, Nap. I like it when the guys I like to watch do stuff are having fun and you were always having fun.

 

[LesterFan]

Thanks for everything, Napoli. Good luck in the future.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmPbDfEEEfg

 

[Youks Baltic Roots]

Thank you Nap. There was no 2013 parade without you.

 

[Oil Can Dan]

Thanks for all of it Nap, but especially that dinger off Verlander.

 

[shepard50]

Napoli was great in that ALCS. 
 
I hope you rake in Texas.

 

[Bob Montgomerys Helmet Hat]

Another bittersweet move.

Thanks for 2013, Nap. Your attitude was infectious and it was a joy to watch you obliterate a baseball.

 

[j44thor]

My only regret with Napoli is that he wasn't a Red Sox 5yrs earlier.  If ever there was a guy built for Fenway it was Mike Napoli.  Unfortunately we got him on the back 9 instead of the front 9.
 
Still as silly as it may seem the 2013 team was the "Beard" with Gomes and Napoli leading the way.  As much as we like to think baseball can be summed up on stat sheets and advanced analytics, there was clearly something else going on with that 2013 team that made them significantly greater than a sum of their parts.  Mike Napoli was a huge part of the identity that made 2013 so enjoyable and unforgettable. 

 

[Beomoose]

Grazie, re di Napoli

 

[soxhop411]

Rob Bradford ‏@bradfo 26m26 minutes ago
A week ago, Napoli announced to Red Sox were going to go 40-18 and make playoffs. Wrote goal on inside of locker, putting mark for each win

 

[Jimbodandy]

My only regret with Napoli is that he wasn't a Red Sox 5yrs earlier.  If ever there was a guy built for Fenway it was Mike Napoli.  Unfortunately we got him on the back 9 instead of the front 9.
 
Still as silly as it may seem the 2013 team was the "Beard" with Gomes and Napoli leading the way.  As much as we like to think baseball can be summed up on stat sheets and advanced analytics, there was clearly something else going on with that 2013 team that made them significantly greater than a sum of their parts.  Mike Napoli was a huge part of the identity that made 2013 so enjoyable and unforgettable. 

 
Well said.  
 
Thanks Mike for a memorable 2013, with huge hits, solid defense, and a healthy dose of magic fairy dust chemistry.

 

[LogansDad]

That home run off Verlander was euphoric.  Him and Vic were part of a team that I had more fun watching than any I can remember: 2004 was stressful, 2007 was expected, 2013 was simply awesome from start to finish.
 
Good luck in Texas, Mike.  

 

[Hee Sox Choi]

 

[cannonball 1729]

I have to admit that while it didn't have the impact of his 2013 heroics, my favorite Mike Napoli moment is still his "What an idiot!" home run off of Tanaka:
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAdaq3QlT14

 

[sodenj5]

I was at the Sunday night game in 2013 where he hit that walk off blast against the Yankees in extra innings. Best experience I've ever had at a game. Best of luck Nap.

 

[glasspusher]

Thank you, Mike, for 2013, picking up playing a great first base and all that great hitting down the stretch. You deserved it in 2011, great to see you finally get a ring, and with the sox. My best wishes to you in the future.

 

[Sprowl]

2013 was chemistry magic, and players like Napoli, Victorino and Gomes were the breath -- no, the gale -- of fresh air that blew away the stench of the 2011 collapse and Bobby the Fifth. 
 
Farewell to the Beard Era: those were the days.

 

[Frank Fenway]

Best bartender in Red Sox history 

 

[mauidano]

Best bartender in Red Sox history 

 

[mauidano]

Thanks for the crazy ass memories and all you did to bring the City the needed inspiration in 2013. You and Shane will never pay for a drink ever again in Boston. Love you dude! Best of luck in Texas.

 

[Remagellan]

Thanks, Nap.  The 2013 ALCS turned on three home runs: Papi's in Game 2, yours in Game 3, and Shane's in Game 6.  And while you and Shane no longer wear the laundry, you two are forever Red Sox.  
 
Good luck in Texas, and God bless you and yours!

 

[Flynn4ever]

Thank you Nap! I'm glad you're going somewhere familiar but I will always remember you as the guy who took 2013 from just another year to just another WS banner. You always struck me as that guy whom I hated on other teams (the Angels) but loved on my team. Well, I will love you on any team now. We used to have a tradition of honoring "one of the 25" from the 2004 team. You weren't there, but you would have fit in well. Good luck in Texas and beyond. 

 

[etakbear]

Thanks for everything, Nap. You embodied the spirit of 2013 and will never be forgotten. Rock on, bearded one.

 

[brs3]

#DrunkNapoli was the greatest Twitter event. Thanks for hitting bombs. Thanks for making the Red Sox fun again. Thanks for 2013. Thanks for everything.

 

[Tyrone Biggums]

Rob Bradford ‏@bradfo 26m26 minutes ago
A week ago, Napoli announced to Red Sox were going to go 40-18 and make playoffs. Wrote goal on inside of locker, putting mark for each win

I hope his attitude rubbed off on players. I wouldn't mind him back on a one year incentive based deal but probably not likely. Hopefully Texas can make the playoffs and we can root for playoff Nap. Gomes Victorino and Napoli gone in the past year.

 

[Savin Hillbilly]

Happy trails, Nap. You're the last man standing of a great trio. You, Shane, and Gomes were to 2013 what Millar and Damon were to 2004--you broke the franchise out of its rut and made it fun to watch the team. You surprised a lot of people with your 1B defense--and absolutely nobody with your power. Most of all you just seemed like a genuine, positive, low-ego guy who was easy to root for. I'll miss rooting for you. 

 

[LeoCarrillo]

As mentioned, part of the clubhouse potion of 2013. (After Nap, Vic and Gomes, I'd give an honorable mention to Peavy too. Finishing touch.)
 
I remember the Intentional Talk hours before Game 6 of the WS, when Nap was sunning himself on the mound and Peavy was talking about the cigar-store Indian. The team was absolutely legit loose. 
 
Arrivederci, Nap.

 

[Al Zarilla]

As mentioned, part of the clubhouse potion of 2013. (After Nap, Vic and Gomes, I'd give an honorable mention to Peavy too. Finishing touch.)
 
I remember the Intentional Talk hours before Game 6 of the WS, when Nap was sunning himself on the mound and Peavy was talking about the cigar-store Indian. The team was absolutely legit loose. 
 
Arrivederci, Nap.

I'll throw in Ross. Those guys started and continued the beard fun, etc., while the core of the team (Pedey, Ortiz, Ells, Lester, Lackey, Koji) all seemed to relax as the whole team kicked ass all year. Nap was a guy I always wished we had when he was mashing against us (15 HR, 1.075 OPS vs. BOS!) and we got him. Best of luck the rest of your life, dude. 
 
Ed., how could I forget Ortiz. 

 

[Ted Cox 4 president]

The enthusiasm was infectious. And the HR off Verlander is never to be forgotten. Never, ever. Kudos and many thanks. Best of luck.

 

[YTF]

Echo all of the above mentions and I would also like to add this. Thanks Mike for publicly handling the debacle of your first signing in Boston with incredible class. So much so that when others might have held resentment and bolted after getting their ring, you embraced the city and made it known that you wanted to stay. You took a public beating for your performance this season and I can't recall a single incident where you lashed out at the media or fans. Mike Napoli, class act!!!

 

[Sox and Rocks]

Always loved that bearded bastard. I remember canceling class to catch the day game in Detroit where he homered off verlander. Will never forget that bomb.

 

[tomdeplonty]

He was so fun to watch in 2013.
 
Everybody mentions the bomb against Verlander. I have a lot of relatives who are Tigers fans, so before the series, I heard a lot of chirping about Scherzer and Verlander and a rotation really built for the playoffs. This only got more intense after Lester was barely out-pitched in game 1.
 
In the end they didn't get anything off Scherzer but found an improbable way to win game 2, like that team did so much of the time.
 
And then Lackey and Mike Napoli provided the answer to Verlander in game 3. There was not a lot of chirping after that.

 

[bob burda]

The HR off Verlander was big, but the tremendous shot he hit off of Sanchez, who they had done mostly nothing with in Game 1, was also big....and I watched the replay again yesterday, and I still can't believe it when that ball winds up halfway up the backdrop over the CF wall (which itself is 420). 

 

[Granite Sox]

Great dude. Easy to root for on the Sox.

It pained me to see him struggle this year because of how much he meant to the Boston Strong champs. By all accounts he was very well-liked by everyone in the org.

The Beard.

OOT25 '13

Godspeed...

 

[shoebox91]

I have tried to find the words to write about this for a few days now. Napoli was, hands down, my favorite of the '13 bunch. He loved being in Boston which was endearing in and of itself. He hit some huge bombs for us. When he was hot he drove in runs in bunches. He played 1B better than I could have ever hoped. He started that year on fire and started us off on the right foot. He finished with multiple game changing hits. It was very easy to like him as a player.
 
I've had the fortune twice in the past two years to have some short time with him. In 2014 my family and I got to get into Fenway early on a gameday through some connections we had. Mike was so gracious. He spent time taking pics, talking baseball, and talking about how much he loved the city...my city...our city. He made it his, too. He loved Boston.
 
Just last month we had a huge surprise when our daughter, Mia Caroline, got picked to be the Red Sox bat girl for a game when we were in town. Mia is 9, loves the Sox as much as any of us do (yes, really), and was so overwhelmed by the whole experience. Out of all of the guys, Mike was the one who took a TON of time to talk to her, show her around the dugout, tell her where everything goes, etc. At one point Papi came over to say something to him and he introduced them. He was so unbelievably kind to her and really made her feel like she was part of it. Mia was already Sox for life...(I know, I'm a terrible dad for inflicting this on her!) but Nap made her feel like she mattered to him as much as he mattered to her.
 
I'm grateful to the man for bringing my team, my city, the championship. I'm even more grateful, however, for what he did for my little piece of Sox Nation on that day, in the middle of a bad season and a terrible personal slump. I will always be thankful to Mike Napoli.

 

[WenZink]

I have tried to find the words to write about this for a few days now. Napoli was, hands down, my favorite of the '13 bunch. He loved being in Boston which was endearing in and of itself. He hit some huge bombs for us. When he was hot he drove in runs in bunches. He played 1B better than I could have ever hoped. He started that year on fire and started us off on the right foot. He finished with multiple game changing hits. It was very easy to like him as a player.
 
I've had the fortune twice in the past two years to have some short time with him. In 2014 my family and I got to get into Fenway early on a gameday through some connections we had. Mike was so gracious. He spent time taking pics, talking baseball, and talking about how much he loved the city...my city...our city. He made it his, too. He loved Boston.
 
Just last month we had a huge surprise when our daughter, Mia Caroline, got picked to be the Red Sox bat girl for a game when we were in town. Mia is 9, loves the Sox as much as any of us do (yes, really), and was so overwhelmed by the whole experience. Out of all of the guys, Mike was the one who took a TON of time to talk to her, show her around the dugout, tell her where everything goes, etc. At one point Papi came over to say something to him and he introduced them. He was so unbelievably kind to her and really made her feel like she was part of it. Mia was already Sox for life...(I know, I'm a terrible dad for inflicting this on her!) but Nap made her feel like she mattered to him as much as he mattered to her.
 
I'm grateful to the man for bringing my team, my city, the championship. I'm even more grateful, however, for what he did for my little piece of Sox Nation on that day, in the middle of a bad season and a terrible personal slump. I will always be thankful to Mike Napoli.

 
Great story, and I'm not surprised at all to hear it.  In spite of becoming a multi-millionaire, by virtue of playing a kids' game very well, Napoli is one of those that just enjoys the moment.  It's just so great that the greatest moments in his career came in 2013.  In Boston.  If he lives to be 90, he'll still be reminiscing about 2013, and if I live to 90, I'll be doing the same.

 

[bosockboy]

The Verlander dinger is probably a top 15-20 HR in franchise history.  Never to be forgotten.