New Cub Alex Avila understands business of baseball – Chicago Tribune
Alex Avila said he’s aware that people like to crack jokes over the fact that his father Al, the general manager of the Tigers, traded him Sunday night to the Cubs.
But the younger Avila said Tuesday that his father kept him abreast of a potential trade for the last month, adding that his mother might be more affected by the trade.
“I think she was more upset with probably the fact she’s not going to see her grandchildren as much,” Alex said. “We’re a baseball family.”
Avila’s grandfather, Ralph, was a legendary scout for the Dodgers who signed Hall of Fame pitcher Pedro Martinez.
“When you grow up in this industry, you understand what it takes in order to succeed and the sacrifices you have to make as an family. It’s nothing new to us.”
Avila looked back on the trade in a philosophical manner.
“When it comes to doing our job, he had to,” Avila said of his father. “There’s nothing more to it than that.”
This marked the first time a GM traded his since since Dodgers GM Al Campanis traded his son Jim in 1968.
“I’m glad it has happened,” Avila said. “We got to spend a lot of time together. He got to watch me play a lot of Major League Baseball games over the past nine years. It’s been amazing. We had something a lot of people don’t get to experience.”
And Avila told Cubs GM Jed Hoyer he appreciated the opportunity to play for another storied franchise.
“It’s exciting for me,” Avila said. “I didn’t get much sleep the night the trade happened.”
Avila recalled getting promoted to the majors for the first time in the midst of a pennant race and appreciating the mentoring from starter Gerald Laird and manager Jim Leyland.
“Those experiences helped me over the years and going into now,” Avila said.
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