Alex Avila makes immediate impact with Detroit Tigers

DETROIT | Alex Avila was following baseball’s age-old routine of the handshake line.

It was the same he had done the night before with one notable difference. When he went to shake manager Jim Leyland’s hand after Thursday’s game, the catcher got the lineup card as well.

After his two-hit major league debut, including an RBI double, plus a strong afternoon behind the plate, Avila admitted he should have seen the congratulations coming.

The moments immediately following the Tigers’ 7-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles, helping the Tigers stay in first place and take the series with three out of four, were the first chance for the former University of Alabama player to appreciate his role.

“It’s incredible,” Avila said. “It’s something you always dream about growing up playing baseball and being around the game and the whole family being involved in the game. It still hasn’t really sunk in yet but I’m sure once I leave here I’ll be able to sit back and really enjoy things.”

The rest of the stadium got their chance in the third inning, when Avila’s RBI double knocked in the Tigers’ fifth run and all eyes turned to the management box, where his father, Tigers assistant GM Al Avila, was beaming.

A handshake from Tigers’ president/general manager Dave Dombrowski, a hug from Tigers legend Al Kaline and lots of acknowledgment from the players in the dugout toward the box where Al Avila sat captured the scene.

“He’ll have a nice night tonight,” Tigers manager Jim Leyland said, smiling. “If his dad’s not too cheap, maybe he’ll buy him dinner.”

The decision was one that Al Avila was glad to endure. The usual family barbecues that have been a day-game staple since the family moved to Detroit eight years ago were possibly going to be replaced for a night as the father was getting advice to possibly break down for the Capital Grille.

“It was fun to watch, it was good that he had a good start,” said Al Avila. “Now maybe it will carry on and become a routine. It’s a lot easier that way.”

Alex Avila noticed his teammates when he returned to the dugout after the third-inning RBI double, but did not look at the box, intending to keep his focus on the game.

He heard the cheers from his high school friends at Warren De La Salle throughout the game and said he appreciated it all. But he knew his focus was what got him to the big leagues so quickly. He was drafted in 2008, spent half of this season in Erie and now is in the majors.

For Leyland, the skills already are apparent.

“The one thing I’m impressed with him is he looks like he picks up the ball real well when he’s hitting,” Leyland said. “It looks like he has a really good eye at the plate and it looks like he recognizes ball/strike pretty quick and it’s a big plus when you can do that.”

Avila followed up with another good night Friday in a 10-8 victory. He was 2-for-4 with a home run and a double and four RBIs.