Detroit Tigers’ Alex Avila Reflects on ‘Biggest Moment’ at Alabama

Of the more than 600 at-bats Alex Avila took in his three years at Alabama, one, in his mind, stands above the rest – and understandably so.

The current Detroit Tigers catcher was just a freshman when he found himself in a season-on-the-line moment at the 2006 Tuscaloosa Super Regional.

The situation: A 3-1 count with runners on first and second and one out, trailing 6-4 in the top of the ninth inning in an elimination game.

The result: A three-run, opposite-field home run over the left field wall to give the Crimson Tide the crucial lead.

But it didn’t last long.

In the bottom of the ninth, North Carolina’s Chad Flack hit a three-run walk-off shot to send the Tar Heels to the College World Series.

Though the end result didn’t pan out like he would have liked, that memory from a half-inning earlier still resonates positively for Avila, even today.

“That was probably the biggest moment of my Alabama career for sure,” Avila said in a phone interview in late November. “I remember when I hit it, I didn’t feel it off the bat, which is always a good sign. The one thing I remember as I was rounding third, coming toward home was that the entire team was basically around home plate. It was the loudest I’ve ever heard that stadium. I mean, I felt like the ground was shaking.

“I don’t know if it was that loud, but at least that’s what it felt like to me. And once I hit home, I felt like I was getting mobbed for about 10 minutes and I remember being out of breath. Everyone was hugging me, punching me, just giving me high fives and the place was going absolutely nuts.

“Obviously losing in that next half-inning on a walk-off home run was a huge roller coaster of emotions, but that was by far one of the best moments of my Alabama career for sure. I’ll remember that forever.”

At Alabama, Avila was a first-team All-SEC selection as a junior in 2008 and posted a .303 career batting average with 36 home runs and 165 RBIs before being taken in the fifth round of the 2008 MLB Draft by the Tigers.

Avila, a South Florida native, said he ultimately chose the Crimson Tide over in-state schools like Miami and Florida because he was promised an opportunity for playing time as a freshman. But it helps that Alabama was love at first sight, too.

“I went to a football game on my recruiting visit and just fell in love with Tuscaloosa, fell in love with the whole atmosphere, the SEC,” Avila said. “After that, I cancelled all my recruiting trips and decided to go to Alabama.”

During his time in Tuscaloosa, Avila was roommates with current Baltimore Orioles closer Tommy Hunter, who was selected by the Texas Rangers in the supplemental first round of the 2007 draft.

Avila, who enters his seventh season in the majors in 2015, has spent his entire professional career with the Tigers. In 2011, he was named an All-Star and the Silver Slugger Award recipient for American League catchers.

Watch a brief snippet of Avila’s homer below (but be careful watching the rest):