White Sox Avila makes 1st return to Detroit

DETROIT — Alex Avila got to return home, literally. The White Sox catcher pulled up to his house in nearby Birmingham, Mich., where he stayed for the last part of his Tigers tenure, and paid a visit during the team’s off-day in town on Thursday.

He did not get to sleep in his own bed. His old teammate, Tigers second baseman Ian Kinsler, is renting the place from him for the season.

“I had to go by to pick up a baby crib for one of my kids,” Avila said.

He then stopped by his parents’ home, where he saw his mom and dropped off the children. His father, Tigers general manager Al Avila, wasn’t in.

Players change teams and see their old clubs all the time. For Avila, of course, the ties run deeper. He grew up around the Tigers’ organization, first as a kid, then as a player. He spent the first seven seasons of his Major League career being able to see his family every day and became an integral part of the family atmosphere in the Tigers’ …

continue reading in source mlb.mlb.com