Tigers GM, catcher among fortunate father-son duos
DETROIT » Alex Avila was the best player available on the Detroit Tigers’ board when it was their turn to select a player in the fifth round of the 2008 amateur draft.
His dad suggested the Tigers pick someone else.
“I didn’t want people to think it was a favor,” Tigers general manager Al Avila recalled. “I thought he would have a better opportunity if someone else drafted him so he wouldn’t have to deal with the scrutiny of being my son.”
David Chadd, who is now the team’s assistant general manager and was its scouting director back then under general manager Dave Dombrowski, told Avila it would mark the first time the organization passed on the top player on the board that early in a draft.
“I said, ‘I’ll back and back off,’” said down Avila, an assistant GM back then. “We drafted him and he developed very quickly.”
The Avilas are one of the fortunate father-son duos in sports, striving to strike a balance between business and personal while regularly spending time around each other. Many aren’t able to always spend a Father’s Day with each other, and they treasure those times when schedules allow it.
The Avilas shared memories of those early days and the GM remembers taking his son out to dinner for a heart-to-heart talk in 2009.
“I gave him a strong message, saying, ‘You need to pick it up or you’re not getting to the big leagues anytime soon,’” he said as his son, sitting a few feet away in Detroit’s dugout, started to chuckle.
“A week later, I got called up,” he said with a grin.
“And he’s been in the big leagues ever since,” said his proud father.
Al and Alex Avila mutually agreed he should play elsewhere after his injuryriddled season in 2015, and he signed with the Chicago White Sox.
“I felt we could do better,” Al Avila said. “I don’t think we even talked about it.” Nothing personal, kid. “He’s got to make decisions based on what he thinks is best for the organization,” Alex Avila said nonchalantly. “I grew up in baseball so I understood.”
Alex Avila returned to Detroit this season. He was the top free agent available, his dad said. And the younger Avila is having his best season since 2011, when he was an All-Star.