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Napoli on Boston: 'I want to play here for the rest of my time'

Bob DeChiara / USA TODAY Sports

Mike Napoli has grown fond of Boston in his two seasons with the Red Sox - so much so he hopes to end his career there. 

"Looking from right now where I am in my career, I wouldn't want to play anywhere else," Napoli told Rob Bradford of WEEI. "I want to play for a while, as long as I possibly can. This feels like home to me, being able to play in Boston. 

"When you get (to) the league and you play in different places, it was always somewhere I wanted to play. And now that I have, I want to play here for the rest of my time. That's how much I love it."

Napoli has spent the last two seasons with the Red Sox after signing as a free agent in 2012. He has one year and $16 million remaining on his current deal. The first baseman already proved his willingness to stay after his initial contract expired in 2013, opting to take less money to remain in Boston. 

"There wasn't a fear of having to go somewhere else," Napoli said. "I was willing to take less to come back here and play. I'm good with my money, and I made a lot of money in this game. So taking less to come here to play was an easy decision to make,"

The 33-year-old battled a finger injury for the better part of last season, limiting him to a .248/.370/.419 slash line and 17 home runs. He's expected to be fully recovered for the start of 2015. 

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