It’s not unusual for catchers on a baseball team to develop a close bond.
In Toronto for instance, it’s no coincidence that the lockers of starting catcher J.P. Arencibia and backup Jeff Mathis are situated next to each other in the Blue Jays clubhouse. The two men talk often, and with their respective roles having been clearly defined — and accepted by both — early in the spring, their relationship appears to be a good one.
But as Mathis prepared to return to Angel Stadium of Anaheim this past weekend for the first time as a member of the opposition, he was reminded of a time when the relationship between he and his battery mate was far more complicated.
Back in 2002, Mathis, the Angels’ first-round pick (33rd overall) in the 2001 amateur draft, was assigned to single-A Cedar Rapids of the Midwest League. There, the then 19-year-old Mathis met for the first time a 20-year-old, part-time catcher/DH named Mike Napoli.
Both were catchers and native Floridians, but Mathis hailed from rural Marianna (population 6,200) near the Georgia/Alabama border in the north, while Napoli was raised in Hollywood in the southern part of the state, just outside of urban Fort Lauderdale.
Nevertheless, the two soft-spoken, intense competitors immediately hit it off. They were roommates as they rose through the Angels’ minor-league system together and often talked about what it would be like to not only one day play in the majors, but to do it as teammates.
“We always kidded around about hopefully one day, being up there together,” Mathis said last week in Toronto before a game against Napoli and his Texas Rangers. “And then it happened.”
What they didn’t anticipate, however, was how turbulent their time together as L.A. teammates would be.
Mathis — who posted a line of .278/.342/.502/.844 with 21 homers in 111 games with triple-A Salt Lake in 2005, was the first to get the call to the majors, making his debut on Aug. 12 of that summer.
The following spring, the Angels began the 2006 season with Jose Molina behind the plate with Mathis serving as his backup. Meanwhile, Napoli opened 2006 at triple-A Salt Lake.
But after Mathis struggled offensively through his first 23 games of ’06 the Angels shipped him down to triple-A, promoting Napoli in his place.
For the next five seasons the two friends would continue to share time between the plate and hotel rooms on the road. Both wanted to start.
And while Angels manager Mike Scoscia appeared to place a higher value on Mathis’ glove than Napoli’s bat, no clear-cut starter would emerge.
The debate over who should start, Mathis or Napoli, became a polarizing one within the Angels fanbase, but unlike another popular Orange County-based drama at the time, Mathis said this one lacked any cattiness.
“It was a crazy situation,” Mathis recalled. “We just kind of fed off of each other, it wasn’t really a competition. Yeah, we motivated each other, but there was no hatred or wanting the other guy to do bad because we did have such a good friendship.”
How crazy was it? The two exchanged the starting role three times from 2007-10, each time only after the other had sustained a serious injury.
In 2007: After hitting .228/.360/.455/.815 with the Angels in 2006, Napoli is named the starting catcher to open the season. But in the final game before the All-Star break, he sprains his ankle, prompting the Angels to recall Mathis. On July 21, the Angels ship Molina to the Yankees, leaving Mathis and Napoli as their catchers going forward.
In 2008: Napoli begins the season as the Opening Day starter, but misses significant time again due to injuries, allowing Mathis to make 94 starts. Still, Napoli finishes with a .960 OPS to Mathis’ .593.
In 2009: Napoli continues to compete with Mathis for the starting job. He also starts 18 games at designated hitter. On defence, he leads all AL catchers with eight errors. Meanwhile, Mathis makes 94 starts behind the plate and, according to the L.A. Times, Angels pitchers post a 3.99 earned-run average in 657 innings with him behind the plate compared to a 4.86 ERA with Napoli catching.
In 2010: Mathis starts 10 of the team’s first 14 games and is hitting .325 on Apr. 19 when he breaks a bone in his right wrist causing him to miss two months, with Napoli taking over behind the plate. When Mathis returns, Napoli moves to first base to cover for first baseman Kendrys Morales, who breaks his lower leg.
Following the 2010 season, the five-year Mathis-Napoli experiment finally came to an end when the Angels shipped Napoli to Toronto with Juan Rivera on Jan. 21, 2011 in exchange for Vernon Wells.
Last week in Toronto, Napoli was asked if the pressures of competing for playing time on a perennial playoff contender ever created any strains between him and Mathis.
“Friends are friends so we never let baseball or anything get between our friendship,” he explained. “It’s just how we are, how we were raised.”
Not even one awkward moment?
“Not one,” Napoli said.
And as you might expect, the friendship has extended beyond baseball. Three years ago during the off-season, Mathis invited Napoli to his Marianna home for his first hunting trip, something that has since become an annual tradition.
“I live in the sticks, in the woods, and he’s right there in Fort Lauderdale in the middle of all of it,” Mathis said. “He never really knew how redneck and into the woods we were, but he loved it, the peace and quiet.”
Napoli, who prior to the trip had never fired a gun before, said he was nervous heading out but became hooked immediately.
“Shooting a gun for the first time is pretty crazy,” he said. “I definitely enjoyed it; it gets your adrenaline going.”
An avid hunter since childhood, Mathis said being able to share in his friend’s first hunting experience gave him an adrenaline rush all his own.
“It pumps me up,” he explained. “I just remember when I first started hunting how my daddy was and how excited he was about me getting in the stand and hunting, shooting my first deer. It was just cool to be able to experience that with him.”
And even though they’re no longer teammates, Napoli confesses the two still talk shop during the season.
“We talk baseball all the time,” he said. “We talk about hitting; we talk about defence, just everything. Whatever it is about baseball we talk about.
“Friends talk to each other and we’re good friends, really good friends.”