New White Sox catcher Avila can't wait to beat the Tigers
New White Sox catcher Alex Avila is in a unique situation.
It looks pretty normal on the surface, a player spends seven years with one club and signs with a division rival. It's not something you see often, but it's not uncommon.
What makes Avila's situation unique, though, is that his father, Al Avila, is the GM of the Detroit Tigers, his former team.
There's no doubt that the younger Avila has already turned the page. On Monday, he spoke with reporters, including ESPN Chicago, saying “It will actually be nice to be able to see everybody [the Tigers] off the field. At the same time, I can’t wait to kick their a--.”
He also addressed his relationship with his father (and boss) and how they were able to keep the two in their own separate worlds:
“The tough part was probably for him and myself over the years was the fact that sometimes, especially last year when we were playing so poorly, the stress of the job for both of us, there were a lot of things we couldn’t talk about because we never crossed that line. We were very professional about what each of our jobs was and is. We never came anywhere near crossing that line. I’m sure if you talk to people that know us well, and people that covered us, they’d say the same thing.”
As ESPN Chicago goes on to note, Avila will be getting a lion's share of the innings behind the dish, serving as a platoon to Tyler Flowers.
Playing in just 67 games in 2015, Avila hit .191 with four homers and 19 RBI, however he was a former All-Star and Silver Slugger winner in 2011, hitting .295 with 19 home runs and 82 runs driven in.
