Napoli.
There is a good reason why we all love sports. It isn’t because of guys like Peyton Manning or LeBron James. Yes, we love watching them play because they define logic, both with their athletic abilities and superhuman skills, but it isn’t Peyton and LeBron that make things like postseason sports so great.
At times, yes, they do. We can root for the Derek Jeters and Tiger Woods of sports because they’re supposed to be great, so when they rise to the occasion we all high five and nod our heads, understanding that we’re seeing a great athlete be great at that exact moment. It happens a lot with Tom Brady, and even more with guys like Roger Federer Rafael Nadal. The rich will be richer, they say.
But the main point of sitting around an entire baseball season and watching pointless regular season game after pointless regular season game is because of guys like Mike Napoli. A career .264 hitter, Napoli was drafted in the 17th round back in 2000. He spent most of his six-year career with the Angels before heading down to Arlington to become a member of a scrappy Rangers bunch hungry to fill the hole at catcher once left by Pudge Rodriguez.
The reason I bring up Pudge is because that’s back when I was the biggest fan of the team. Growing up a baseball player in an East Texas house, I distinctly remember a t-shirt my sister used to own that had four Rangers on the front of it; Nolan Ryan, Ruben Sierra, Julio Franco and Rafael Palmero. Quite a lineup, the Rangers had a string of big names roll through over the years without much success, if any at all. But that didn’t stop me from hanging a Nolan Ryan poster in my room and worshiping a picture my neighbor, a preacher, had hanging in his foyer. A God-fearing man to the core, my neighbor had, hanging up right when you walk into his beautiful two-story house, a picture of Robin Ventura entangled in the arms of Mr. Ryan as the seven-time no-hit man taught the young Chicago White Sox what exactly it means to have Old Man Strength.
I loved the team that were the Rangers, even as bad as they were. No big moves, always getting ride of their large acquisitions, Texas was always a team in flux. That was, until they decided to sign Alex Rodriguez. As strange as it may seem, A-Rod might be the man that brings this World Series to Dallas. It was a money-grubbing short stop that showed Rangers fans that the team was willing to spend the money if need be.
That was, as they say, the start of it.
But back to Monday night, when things seemed desperate for the Rangers. Tied 2-2 with a destiny-driven Cardinals team, the Rangers were down to St. Louis’ stud ace on a night that just seemed set for the Cards. That was, until things started to set up for Napoli.
It shouldn’t surprise you that Napoli is from a place called Hollywood, even if that is the one in Florida and not California. The 29-year-old catcher never seemed to be the star in a lineup that featured the likes of Josh Hamilton and Michael Young. But Napoli slowly started getting some big hits. In the divisional series. Against Detroit. And now, in the biggest stage of them all.
You see, sports are great because they make stars. These aren’t the stars we will remember for the rest of our lifetime. In 50 years, baseball fans will be able to recite game stats from Albert Pujos like they’re mandatory reading. No, it isn’t the Pujos’ of the world.
It’s Napoli. And David Tyree. And Shane Spencer. It’s the guys you will never remember five years from now, but for an instant, or a week, or an entire postseason, that bring something you’d never see from them.
In a spot where the Rangers desperately needed a hit on Monday, Napoli did just that. Again. And the fans chanted his name. Again. And for a moment, Napoli was Keith Van Horn and Christian Laettner, a guy that you will forever remember for what he did right this instant, and maybe for nothing else.
Sports are great sometimes. We can thank Napoli for these types of moments.
