Cleveland Indians: Mike Napoli makes his return to Progressive Field tonight

Cleveland Indians fans finally get to see Mike Napoli make his return to Progressive Field tonight as his Texas Rangers are in town.

Cleveland Indians fans got to see Mike Napoli play in the opening series of the season, but today marks the first time he is back at Progressive Field since Game 7 of last year’s World Series.

Napoli will get his American League Championship ring and should get a great ovation from the crowd every time he steps to the plate as appreciation for the fun year he gave fans in 2016.

His 34 home runs and 101 RBI gave fans that power bat the team had been in search of for years, but unfortunately his stats fell off in the postseason.

That is why the Indians looked for an upgrade and were lucky enough to land a deal with Edwin Encarnacion, essentially ending any possibility of Napoli returning to the Indians for another season.

At first, when Encarnacion was struggling, some fans were wondering if Napoli should have been retained. However, it is clear the right choice was made.

More from Away Back Gone

• Cleveland Guardians tantalizingly close to locking up AL Central tiebreakers
• Cleveland Guardians: Terry Francona becomes meme in profanity-laced ejection
• Say goodbye to defensive shifts and hello to bigger bases, pitch clock in 2023
• Cleveland Guardians: Shane Bieber second-fastest to 800 strikeouts in major-league history
• The next week will make or break the Cleveland Guardians’ season

Encarnacion had a slow start but has raised his batting average to .261, while his on-base percentage is at an impressive .379. Add in his 17 home runs and 40 RBI and the power numbers are there as well. He has also scored 44 times, which is second on the team behind Jose Ramirez who seems to be on base more often than not.

Napoli has not had similar results in Texas. He does have 14 home runs and 32 RBI for those who solely focus on such things, but his .192 average is tough to look at.

Add in the .272 on-base percentage along with 77 strikeouts in just 213 at-bats and it’s clear the Indians are better off with Edwin and his parrot.

Current stats aside, fans can still appreciate what Napoli brought to this team in 2016. While he had a solid season on the field, he also emerged as a leader off the field and instantly became a fan favorite during what was a special season.

Next: 3 takeaways after being swept by the Twins

The party at Napoli’s will never die, and he will always be remembered as being an integral part of that 2016 team. He never had his Rajai Davis moment, but his entire year of work is enough for fans to give him a great ovation tonight and throughout the rest of the series.