Alex Avila Biography
Alex Avila (born Alexander Thomas Avila) is a Cuban-American Analyst and former Pro Baseball Catcher working for MLB Network as an analyst. He is known for having played for several teams including the Tigers, the Cubs, the White Sox, the Twins, and the Diamondbacks. His baseball career lasted for 12 years (August 6, 2009 – October 3, 2021).
Alex Avila Age
Avila was born on January 29, 1987, in Hialeah, Florida, United States. He is therefore 36 years old as of 2023. He celebrates his birthday on the 29th of January every year.
Alex Avila Height
Avila stands at an approximate height of 5 feet and 11 inches.
Alex Avila Family
Avila was born to Al Avila (father) and Yamile Avila (mother). He also has a godfather, Tommy Lasorda, who is a former manager of Los Angeles Dodgers. Avila was raised alongside his younger brother, Alan Avila, a baseball player. In the year 2008, the Detroit Tigers drafted Alan in the 47th round, but Alan chose to go to college instead. However, Alan now works for the Detroit Tigers as a Assistant Counsel, Baseball Relations.
Breaking down further to Avila’s family roots, his cousin, Nick Avila, has played for the Detroit Tigers since the 2011 37th round of MLB’s Baseball 1st-Year Player Draft. Nick is now serving as a coach for the Gulf Coast Tigers.
Alex Avila Father
Avila’s dad, Al Avila, is a Cuban baseball executive who has served MLB’s Detroit Tigers as a general manager and executive vice president of baseball operations. He is 65 years old as of 2023 having been born on August 2, 1958.
Alex Avila Wife / Children
Avila is a married man and his spouse is Kristina Perez Avila. The couple first met in high school and they tied the knot in the year 2010. The couple takes great pride in being dad and mom to their 2 daughters: Zoey Gabrielle and Avery Noelle (firstborn). Zoey is 8 years old as of 2023 having been born on March 4, 2015. Avery is 10 years old as of 2023 having been born on April 7, 2013.
Alex Avila Net Worth
Avila has an estimated net worth of between $1 Million-$5 Million which he has earned through his successful career as an Analyst and Professional Baseball Catcher.
Alex Avila Salary
As an MLB analyst, Amaro earns an annual salary ranging from $ 45,000 – $ 110,500.
Alex Avila Education
Avila is a proud alumnus of the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa and Archbishop McCarthy High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Avila had his sophomore high school year at De La Salle Collegiate High School in Warren, Michigan.
Alex Avila Career | Contracts | Trade
Avila serves at MLB Network as an analyst, making appearances on MLB Network’s shows such as MLB Tonight, a studio show. He started his baseball career while in high school, where he was part of the baseball team. He also played basketball while in college, and after that, he joined the Detroit Tigers, then Chicago White Sox, then Arizona Diamondbacks, then Arizona Diamondbacks, then Minnesota Twins, and finally his last game was with the Washington Nationals.
Alex Avila College Career
While in high school, in the year 2005, the Detroit Tigers drafted him in the 34th round of the MLB Draft, but he decided to go to college instead, where he was recognized as an All-SEC selection. In the year 2007, Avila spent his summer playing baseball with the Harwich Mariners in the Cape Cod Baseball League. After his junior year in college, where he had impressive stats with 17 home runs, a .343 batting average, and 62 runs batted in, the Tigers drafted him again. This time, it was in the 5th round of the Major League Baseball Draft in the year 2008.
Alex Avila Detroit Tigers | Injuries
Avila played his first game in the major leagues for the Tigers against the Baltimore Orioles, on August 6, 2009. In that game, he got 2 hits, scored a run, and also helped score 1 run for his team. He continued playing on August 7 and in his first turn at bat, he hit his first-ever career home run, facing Anthony Swarzak. By the end of the 2009 season, he had played in just 29 games and had a .279 batting average. He hit 5 home runs and got 14 runs batted in.
In the year 2010, Avila was part of the Tigers’ Opening Day team. He shared playing time with Gerald Laird (main catcher). Before the 2010 season, He was ranked the 6th-best prospect in the Detroit Tigers organization by Baseball America. On June 2, 2010, he played as the catcher when Armando Galarraga nearly had a perfect game. During that season, he didn’t play every game but still did well, with a .228 batting average and 7 home runs in 294 at-bats. He also managed to stop 32% of the runners trying to steal a base.
After his best season in the year 2011, Avila had a less steady year, especially when it came to hitting. It was hard for him to perform well with the bat because he had nagging injuries, even though he caught the 4th most games in the American League. His hitting numbers went down in all areas, and he ended the season with 48 RBIs, 9 home runs, and a .243 batting average. Avila was the best in the American League at catching runners trying to steal bases, but he also led the AL in letting balls get past him.
On January 31, 2014, Avila made a deal with the Tigers to avoid arbitration. He signed a contract (1-year) worth $4.15 M, and there was also a choice for the club to keep him for 2015. However, in the season of 2014, he still had trouble with his hitting. He had a career-low batting average of .218 and hit 11 home runs, just like he did in the year 2013, with 47 RBIs. He also struck out a lot, which was a career-high of 151 times.
On the defensive side, he did really well. In fact, he was one of the finalists for the 2014 Gold Glove Award as a catcher. Avila only let 3 balls get past him in 122 games, which was much better than the 9 and 10 from the previous 2 seasons. In addition, he threw out runners trying to steal bases at a rate of 34%, which was the best in his career. Then, on November 17, 2014, the Tigers chose to keep him for the season of 2015 by using their option to pay him $5.4 M.
The 2015 season was tough for Avila. He had a hard time hitting the ball well, with a low .191 batting average, only 13 RBIs, and 4 home runs. He also lost his job as the starting catcher to James McCann. On top of that, he had a knee injury that kept him off the field for a while. After the 2015 season, he became a free agent because he had been in the league for 6 years. Even though his dad, Al Avila, was now the general manager of the Tigers, he didn’t try to sign his son to a new contract. However, on December 23, 2016, Avila signed a one-year deal for $2 M with the Detroit Tigers. Then, on April 6, 2017, in his 1st time at bat against his old team, the Chicago White Sox, he hit an RBI double in the 8th inning.
Alex Avila (Chicago White Sox and Arizona Diamondbacks)
Avila signed up with the Chicago White Sox for a 1-year contract worth $2.5 M. Unfortunately, injuries cut his season short. In the 2016 season, he only played 57 games with the White Sox, and he had a .213 batting average with 7 home runs. That year, he also had the highest strikeout rate among all main league players when facing right-handed pitchers, which was 37.9%.
On July 31, 2017, a trade happened. Avila and Justin Wilson (pitcher) went to the Chicago Cubs. In return, the Detroit Tigers got Isaac Paredes (shortstop) and Jeimer Candelario (infielder), and they were also supposed to receive another player later or some money. In the 2017 season, playing for both the Tigers and the Cubs, Avila was in 112 games and had a batting average of .264. He also got 49 RBIs and hit 14 home runs.
Alex Avila (Arizona Diamondbacks, Minnesota Twins, & Washington Nationals)
Avila made a deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks on January 31, 2018, signing a 2-year contract. During the season of the year 2018, Avila had the highest strikeout rate when facing right-handed pitchers among all major league players, which was 39.5%. In the year 2019, while playing for Arizona, Avila had a batting line of .207/.353/.421. He got 24 RBIs and hit 9 home runs in 201 plate appearances.
Avila agreed to a 1-year contract with the Minnesota Twins on December 10, 2019. In the shortened 2020 season with the Minnesota Twins, his performance included a batting line of .184/.355/.286, 2 RBIs in 23, and 1 home run.
Then, he signed with the Washington Nationals on January 28, 2021, and the contract lasted for a year. However, he shared that he was retiring from baseball on September 19, 2021, after playing in the MLB for 13 years.
Alex Avila Stats (Overall)
Below is an average statistic analyzed from Avila’s career as a baseball player.
- Batting average .233
- Home runs 105
- Runs batted in 397
Alex Avila Concussion / Health
Avila has had problems with concussions and similar symptoms in the past. In the year 2013, he had to be on the disabled list because of a concussion. In the following year, he missed some games at least two times because he had symptoms like a concussion after getting hit on the head. His most recent known concussion happened during Game 3 of the 2014 American League Division Series. A foul ball hit him in the mask, and it was a tipping point. He had to leave the game three innings earlier than planned, which also meant his season was over.
Alex Avila MLB Network
Avila is working at MLB Network alongside other famous MLB analysts, hosts, and commentators such as;
- Yonder Alonso
- Greg Amsinger
- Rubén Amaro Jr.
- A.J. Andrews
- Bob Costas
- Ron Darling
- Ryan Dempster
- Mark DeRosa
- Robert Flores
- Cliff Floyd
- Peter Gammons
- Lauren Gardner
- Jon Heyman
- Brian Kenny
Alex Avila Social Media Platforms
He is active on his social media accounts and is often seen posting on his Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. He has over 8.9K followers on Instagram.
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