Texarkana Gazette

Tigers GM, catcher among father-son duos in sports

- By Larry Lage

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 down and back off,'" said 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 injury-riddled 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.

THE ANDRETTIS

It is not easy following in the footsteps of a legend. Just ask Marco Andretti , who drives for his father, Michael, and lives in the shadow of his grandfathe­r, Mario, one of the most beloved stars in motorsport­s.

"My relationsh­ip with dad is mostly business and that's why we're able to make it work most of the time," Marco said. "It's tricky, though, because I have teammates. Dad overcompen­sates the other way to make sure I'm not getting favoritism. Sometimes, I'm not a fan of that."

THE STOCKSTILL­S

Middle Tennessee State football coach Rick Stockstill and his son, Brent, had a little talk that turned out to be a big one following his last high school baseball game in 2013.

As a quarterbac­k, he was headed to play at Cincinnati.

"I told him this is your dad speaking, not your coach," Rick Stockstill recalled. "With your leadership, toughness and passion, you're going to have a great career at Cincinnati."

Brent Stockstill, though, didn't want to leave his hometown or his father.

"I said, 'Dad, all I ever want to do is play for you,'" he recalled. "We had never talked about it before because I had kept it bottled up. It's a father-son moment I won't forget."

 ?? Associated Press ?? In this Friday, May 19 photo, Detroit Tigers catcher Alex Avila, left, stands with his father, the team's general manager Al Avila, after an interview in the dugout in Detroit. Al strives to strike a balance between business and personal with his son....
Associated Press In this Friday, May 19 photo, Detroit Tigers catcher Alex Avila, left, stands with his father, the team's general manager Al Avila, after an interview in the dugout in Detroit. Al strives to strike a balance between business and personal with his son....

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