Boston Red Sox: Mike Napoli on Triumph, Tragedy and One Boston Day

Despite a lackluster ALDS performance in which Napoli went 2 for 13, Boston was able to yet again come out the victor in four games against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

His performance in the ALCS however was on par to the Mike Napoli Boston grew to love. Over six games he hit .300/.333/.700.

Given the three-headed monster at the front of the Detroit Tigers’ rotation in Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, and Anibal Sanchez, Boston knew it had its work cut out for them.

Following a game two in which he saw David Ortiz hit the eternalized grand slam followed by a walk-off single from Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Boston headed to Detroit with the series tied at a game each.

"“On the biggest stage he was there, he was confident. He walked with a limp and went out and did his thing.”- Mike Napoli on teammate David Ortiz in the World Series"

Justin Verlander was set to start game three and was cruising through Boston’s lineup through six and one-third innings. With the game locked at 0, Mike Napoli stepped to the plate against baseball’s best and delivered. Crushing a 3-2 pitch over the left-field wall to take the lead, Napoli was greeted at home plate with high fives, praise, and beard tugs.

“You’re confident in what you can do as a baseball player and team so we obviously knew it was going to be tough facing those guys,” said the first baseman of the camaraderie. “We always did everything together as a lineup, pitching staff, and team so we knew everyone had to stick with their roles and stay within themselves to beat those guys.”

Behind solid starting pitching and an offense that reflected the resilience of the city, Boston needed six games to punch their ticket to their third World Series in a decade.