Al Naples

{{Short description|American baseball player (1926–2021)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2021}}

{{Infobox baseball biography

|name=Al Naples

|position=Shortstop

|image=

|bats=Right

|throws=Right

|birth_date={{Birth date|1926|8|29}}

|birth_place=Staten Island, New York, U.S.

|death_date={{Death date and age|2021|2|26|1926|8|29}}

|debutleague = MLB

|debutdate=June 25

|debutyear=1949

|debutteam=St. Louis Browns

|finalleague = MLB

|finaldate=July 26

|finalyear=1949

|finalteam=St. Louis Browns

|statleague = MLB

|stat1label=Games played

|stat1value=2

|stat2label=At bats

|stat2value=7

|stat3label=Hits

|stat3value=1

|teams=

• St. Louis Browns ({{mlby|1949}})

}}

Aloysius Francis Naples (August 29, 1926 – February 26, 2021) was an American Major League Baseball shortstop who played for the St. Louis Browns in {{mlby|1949}}. He is one of about 200 players in major league history to be credited with exactly one base hit.Rose, 2004, p. xiii

{{Rquote|left|I ran like all get-out when I poked that double down the right field line for my first hit in the Big Show. I felt rather good after that.|Al Naples|One Hit Wonders: Baseball Stories (George Rose)}}

Naples was born in Staten Island, New York and attended Georgetown University, where he majored in Latin,{{cite book |last=Rose |first=George |title=One Hit Wonders: Baseball Stories |year=2004 |publisher=iUniverse |isbn=978-0595318070 |pages=33–34}} from 1946 to 1949. He signed a professional contract with the St. Louis Browns in 1949 and made his major league debut, starting against the Boston Red Sox on June 26, 1949. Naples had one hit, a double to right field, against Boston ace Mel Parnell (who won 25 games that year, including Naples' debut).

Naples sat on the bench for a month (the Browns already had Eddie Pellagrini and John Sullivan to play shortstop), then started one more game and was sent down to the Class B{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/team.cgi?city=Springfield&state=IL&country=US&empty=0 |title=Springfield, Illinois Minor League City Encyclopedia |work=Baseball-Reference.com |accessdate=March 27, 2014}} Springfield Browns of the Three-I League. That year, Naples hit .232 with no home runs in 56 games for Springfield,{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/team.cgi?id=716a13f4 |title=1949 Springfield Browns |work=Baseball-Reference.com |accessdate=March 27, 2014}} who finished last{{cn|date=July 2022}} and folded after the season.{{cite web |url=http://minorleaguesource.com/threei4661.htm |title=Illinois-Iowa-Illinois League |author=Mike McCann |work=Mike McCann's Minor League Baseball Page |accessdate=March 27, 2014}} On October 21, 1949, Naples was released unconditionally by the Browns.

He signed with the Browns' other Class B affiliate, the Wichita Falls Spudders of the Big State League for the 1950 season but did not play for the Spudders that year{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/team.cgi?id=4ab71591 |title=1950 Wichita Falls Spudders |work=Baseball-Reference.com |accessdate=March 27, 2014}} or for any other professional team afterwards;{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=naples001alo |title=Al Naples |work=Baseball-Reference.com |accessdate=March 27, 2014}} at age 23, his professional baseball career was over.

Naples died on February 26, 2021, at the age of 94.{{cite web |title=Aloysius Naples Obituary |url=https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/orleans-ma/aloysius-naples-10076336 |website=Dignity Memorial |access-date=11 March 2021 |language=en}}