Mike Napoli smashes homer for fan starting chemotherapy
Real life baseball isn’t like baseball in the movies. The team doesn’t always win their very important game, home runs rarely come when they’re needed most, and kids never break their arms and suddenly become flamethrowing pitchers. But sometimes, real life makes an exception when the circumstances are exceptional. Cleveland Indians first baseman Mike Napoli turned a moment from Monday’s game against the Texas Rangers into something straight out of the movies.
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It all started before the game. A woman came to Progressive Field with a sign that had two simple requests.
She was starting chemotherapy the next day, and wanted a hug and a homer, both from Mike Napoli. Napoli was able to fulfill one of her wishes right away — he went over and gave her a hug, and even signed a baseball.
The second request was a little harder. Before Monday’s game, Napoli had hit 10 home runs in 2016, and he’d just hit one on Sunday. Napoli had three plate appearances on Monday to get it done. In his first one, he grounded into a force out against Rangers starter Derek Holland. In his second one, he faced Holland again, but this time he flied out.
But in his third plate appearance, in the bottom of the sixth inning, Napoli let it fly. He hit a homer to deep left field and onto the home run porch at Progressive Field.
Despite the homer, the Indians lost to the Rangers 9-2. But that brave woman got both of her wishes granted before she started chemotheraphy, and for that one moment, real life baseball seemed just like it does in the movies.
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Liz Roscher is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at [email protected] or follow her on twitter! Follow @lizroscher
