Mike Napoli's former teammate doesn't think he's Hall of Fame worthy: "As much as we all love Nap, he's not a Hall of Famer"
Mike Napoli retired in 2017 and has found himself on the Hall of Fame ballot. Great players often find themselves on the ballot sooner or later and Napoli is up for consideration just five years after he stopped playing baseball.
This might come as a surprise, especially since Napoli is a one-time All-Star who won the 2013 World Series with the Boston Red Sox. For a former teammate of Napoli's, his placement on the ballot doesn't beget an induction ceremony.
"As much as we all love Nap, he's not a hall of famer."
@ChrisGimenez5 looks back at the career of one of his favorite teammates, Mike Napoli.
@MikeNapoli25 | #MikeNapoli | @baseballhall https://t.co/DXnwmemuzS
Discussing the matter on the radio, Chris Giminez said:
"As much as we all love Nap, he's not a Hall of Famer. He even knows that. He probably honestly thinks it's funny that his name is even on the ballot. I'm sure he thinks it's really cool, and obviously there's a lot of honor that goes along with that."
He continued:
"Very respectful in regards to the game of baseball. Him respecting the fact that he's on this ballot, it's no shortage of accomplishments on his end... The numbers don't necessarily back up how good and how important Mike Napoli was to every team he played on."
He added:
"The numbers, they are what they are. .246 batting average. Not going to blow your socks off. .821 OPS, pretty damn good. Not Hall of Fame worthy, per se. Byt very, very good. The dude hit 267 homers in 12 years!"
Despite boasting solid numbers, Giminez thinks there's really no shot at his former teammate making it into the Hall of Fame.
Who is on the 2023 Hall of Fame Ballot with Mike Napoli?
The following former MLB stars are on this year's Hall of Fame ballot:
- New players
- Bronson Arroyo
- Carlos Beltrán
- Matt Cain
- R.A. Dickey
- Jacoby Ellsbury
- Andre Ethier
- J.J. Hardy
- John Lackey
- Mike Napoli
- Jhonny Peralta
- Francisco RodrÃguez
- Huston Street
- Jered Weaver
- Jayson Werth
- Returning players
- Scott Rolen
- Andruw Jones
- Jeff Kent
- Andy Pettitte
- Mark Buehrle
- Todd Helton
- Gary Sheffield
- Manny Ramirez
- Jimmy Rollins
- Torii Hunter
- Billy Wagner
- Alex Rodriguez
- Omar Vizquel
- Bobby Abreu
Many of these players won't end up in the Hall of Fame. Of returning players, Scott Rolen was the closest last time on the ballot with 63.2%.