Mike Napoli announces his retirement

Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty ImagesMike Napoli, who had three stints with the Texas Rangers, most notably for the 2011 American League Championship team, has announced his retirement from baseball. Napoli had signed with the Cleveland Indians last season, but torn his right ACL while playing in AAA to get ready for the season.

Napoli, 37, broke into the majors as a catcher for the Anaheim Angels, splitting time behind the plate with current Ranger catcher Jeff Mathis. In one of the more remarkable, and fateful, sequence of events in MLB history, after the 2010 season, the Angels pursued free agent third baseman Adrian Beltre, but balked at his asking price. This resulted in Beltre…