Michael Anthony Napoli (born October 31, 1981 in Hollywood, FL) is a former first baseman and catcher. He is the quality assurance coach for the Chicago Cubs. He played in 12 years in MLB for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox, and Cleveland Indians.

In 2006, Mike homered in his first major league at-bat off perennial All-Star Justin Verlander.

In 2011, Napoli emerged as a bona fide star with the Rangers, hitting .320 with 25 doubles and 30 homers. He moved around between catching duties, 1B and the DH slot, playing 113 games and getting 369 at-bats with manager Ron Washington trying to get his bat into the line-up as much as possible. He was excellent during the postseason, where he did the bulk of the catching.

That year, he hit .357 with a homer and 4 RBI in the ALDS against the Tampa Bay Rays, then .292 with 6 runs scored against the Detroit Tigers in the ALCS. Facing the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series, he went 7 for 20 (.350) with a double and a pair of homers, but the Rangers lost in seven games, after twice blowing two-run leads in the late stages of Game 6. The next year, Mike was named to the 2012 AL All-Star team.

A power hitter, Mike also had high strikeout totals. He was a member of the 2013 World Champion Red Sox team, contributing a bases loaded 3 run double in the first inning of game 1. Overall, Mike had an excellent career, including appearing in 66 postseason games, hitting 8 homers and driving in 30 runs.

A hard-charger, Mike was quoted as saying "I've always come into Spring Training trying to win a job. That's why I pushed myself to get ready for this spring. I come in here not expecting anything to be given to me." - Mike Napoli on MLB.com (T.R. Sullivan, 02/20/2012, 'Napoli taking nothing for granted').

(excerpted from Baseball Almanac, BR Bullpen & Wikipedia)