CLEVELAND _ Mike Napoli had one of the best seasons of his career in 2016, but that isn't what he remembers most about his time in Cleveland.
To a greater extent, it's the relationships he built. Napoli was often praised as a leader in the clubhouse and a positive influence on many of the younger players. He said in April that he had stayed in touch with many players and manager Terry Francona.
It's also the good he was able to do with the Party at Napoli's promotion, which raised well over $100,000 for Cleveland Clinic hospitals.
"Well, everyone just looks at the baseball part, and it was a special year or me on the baseball field," Napoli said Monday when he returned to Progressive Field as a member of the Texas Rangers. "But the relationships I created on and off the field, being able to do the charity stuff, the whole Party at Napoli's thing was unbelievable with how the fans took to it and to raise all that money.
"Overall, it was a special year and it'll be something I can hopefully tell my kids someday about. It's something I'll never forget."
Napoli has brought the Party At Napoli's charity with him to Texas, effectively adding an Arlington, Texas branch to the venture started by Nate Crowe, an Indians fan originally from Parma, and his well-known signs.
"It's an unbelievable thing that happened, being able to turn it into something special to raise money for kids," Napoli said. "Anytime I can try to give back, it's what I want to try to do. We're in a situation where we can. ... It turned out unbelievable. Anytime I see people with shirts on, it brings a special memory to me and something that was huge for the Cleveland Clinic hospitals. I love it."
Prior to the game and his ring presentation, Napoli spent time in Francona's office on Monday.
"He came over here, he was sitting on my couch for a while and it was funny because the guys would walk by and see him and just the reaction, like a couple guys came in and almost tried to tackle him _ tried," Francona said. "It was just funny. It was fun to see their reaction to him because he's so well thought of, myself included.
"And he knows we don't want him to beat us. I think he probably would respect that. I respect it in him that you're competitive, you want to win. But that doesn't take away any of the fondness or respect or appreciation that we have for him. And that's all in the present tense, not just the past tense because he was here."
