Mike Napoli Revealed

LAST YEAR VLADIMIR GUERRERO, known for wearing a Superman t-shirt underneath his BP jersey and hence the nickname "Super Vlad", bought a bunch of Superman shirts for some of his Latino teammates. Having overheard Vlad's shopping plans, Mike Napoli asked in on it and was granted one of the shirts. I have no idea if he really wears it underneath his jersey, but one thing's for sure, Mike Napoli is quickly becoming one of the best hitting catchers in baseball. If you thought Mike Piazza had crazy power, Napoli's homerun power is displayed with a quick flip of the wrist, whereas Piazza's was a full-bodied uppercut.

Napoli was supposed to be an afterthought to the up-and-coming Jeff Mathis, but after his first few weeks in 2006, it quickly became clear that he possessed two great hitting tools: power and plate discipline. Despite striking out a lot and hitting for low average, the Angels noticed that Napoli kept getting on base, scored frequently, and hit the ball hard when he did make contact. Fast forward to today and you're looking at a rare offensive catcher who will be doing a lot of damage for years to come.