Avila leads four Tigers All-Stars

Avila leads four Tigers All-Stars
Cabrera, Verlander, Valverde all repeat selections from '10
By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 07/03/11 12:00 PM ET

DETROIT -- Alex Avila's campaign for All-Star votes, as led by teammate Justin Verlander, paid off in the end. In his first year as the Tigers' everyday catcher, he'll be starting behind the plate for the American League in the All-Star Game.

His starting nod highlights four All-Stars for the Tigers, the second time in three years they've had that total. Miguel Cabrera, Jose Valverde and Justin Verlander will join Avila in Phoenix for the Midsummer Classic on July 12.

Victor Martinez will have the chance to join them if he can win the All-Star Final Vote.




For all but one of them, it's a return to the All-Star Game. For Avila, the first time might well be the sweetest. He becomes the first Tiger voted by fans into the All-Star lineup since 2007, when Ivan Rodriguez, Magglio Ordonez and Placido Polanco all made it. Cabrera started last year's game at first base, but did so after Justin Morneau was scratched due to injury.

Avila began the season as someone seemingly with good reason to look over his shoulder over his starting job in Detroit, where Martinez had just signed a four-year contract to catch part-time and spend his other starts at designated hitter. Avila was a first-time starter at just 24 years old, having converted to catcher just a few years earlier.

What followed was Avila's emergence as a standout catcher and hitter in his own right. After a rough opening week, he settled in both at the plate and behind it. He drove in 18 runs by the end of April, with a .311 average, then slugged five home runs in May before bringing his average up again in June.

Avila led all AL catchers in almost every major offensive category, short of home runs. Still, Russell Martin's hot opening month as a New York Yankee earned him a slew of early votes once fan balloting began in April and May.

The Tigers soon picked up Avila's cause. Then came Verlander, whose work with Avila as his catcher has resulted in a no-hitter and several close calls already this year. Verlander took to Twitter and just about any other medium he could find to try to encourage fans to vote Avila.

Avila slowly began catching up to Martin, but still trailed by more than 400,000 votes in the last balloting update earlier this week. But Avila garnered the vast majority of the votes at catcher this week before online balloting closed Thursday night.

"Thanks to all the non-Tigers fans who chose the best player," Verlander wrote Sunday afternoon on his Twitter account. "To all the Tigers fans, thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Best city, best fans."

Avila has been understated throughout the process, preferring to let his teammates, fans and media make his case. Still, he kept his plans pretty open for the All-Star break.

When he broke into the Majors two years ago, he was known as the son of Al Avila, Tigers vice president and assistant general manager. Safe to say, he has made his own name.

"It was funny," Avila said. "We were talking about that the other day, and he said, 'Yeah, I was in the grocery store and they asked me, 'Aren't you Alex Avila's dad?'"

He's also Verlander's catcher, though he likely won't get the chance to catch him in the game itself. Though he was an obvious choice for players to vote onto the AL pitching staff, Verlander won't be eligible to pitch in the Midsummer Classic if he starts for the Tigers at Kansas City next Sunday to close out the season's first half, as he's scheduled to do.

With an 11-3 record, 2.32 ERA and just 88 hits over 135 2/3 innings, he would've been a strong candidate to start in the game. Still, he'll be recognized with his third straight All-Star selection and his fourth overall.

Cabrera makes the All-Star team for the sixth time, the second time as a Tiger. His .329 average entering Sunday ranked third in the AL to go with 17 homers and 56 RBIs. Valverde, 19-for-19 in save chances entering Sunday, is a three-time All-Star.

Verlander, Valverde and Cabrera were all All-Stars last season. It's the first time three Tigers earned back-to-back All-Star selections since 1985 and '86, when Lou Whitaker, Lance Parrish and Willie Hernandez made the teams.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.