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Red Sox World Series legends headline 2023 Hall of Fame ballot

NEW YORK - OCTOBER 19: Pitcher Bronson Arroyo #61 of the Boston Red Sox has the ball knocked out of his glove by batter Alex Rodriguez #13 of the New York Yankees on a tag-out at first base as first baseman Kevin Millar #15 looks on in the eighth inning during game six of the American League Championship Series on October 19, 2004 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)
NEW YORK - OCTOBER 19: Pitcher Bronson Arroyo #61 of the Boston Red Sox has the ball knocked out of his glove by batter Alex Rodriguez #13 of the New York Yankees on a tag-out at first base as first baseman Kevin Millar #15 looks on in the eighth inning during game six of the American League Championship Series on October 19, 2004 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images) /
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Mike Napoli of the Boston Red Sox
BOSTON, MA – OCTOBER 24: Mike Napoli #12 of the Boston Red Sox looks on against the St. Louis Cardinals during Game Two of the 2013 World Series at Fenway Park on October 24, 2013 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

Mike Napoli

Two and a half seasons of Mike Napoli’s 12-year career were played in Boston, but he made a significant impact while he was here.

2013 was Nap’s first season with the Sox, and he played a key role in winning a championship for the city while it tried to heal from the Marathon Bombing. In the postseason, he collected four doubles and two home runs, including this seventh-inning blast off Justin Verlander to break up his shutout performance:

And this bases-clearing double off Adam Wainwright in Game 1 of the World Series to put the Sox on the board in the bottom of the first:

Napoli was a career .246/.346/.475 hitter with 1,125 hits, 224 doubles, and 267 home runs amassed across 1,392 regular-season games. Of over 20,000 MLB players throughout the league’s history, he’s in the top-300 all-time in career slugging percentage (249th), home runs (212th), at-bats per home run (58th), and strikeouts (80th).

If he’s not elected to Cooperstown, maybe there’s a Beard Hall of Fame somewhere that will gladly induct him.

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