By STEVE KORNACKILAKELAND, Fla. — Four years ago, Tigers catcher Alex Avila was beginning his junior season at the University of Alabama and watching videotape of Twins All-Star catcher Joe Mauer to learn the fundamentals of his new position.Now he is the reigning American League Silver Slugger Award winner and All-Star Game starter. And with his catching model he earned a spot in Baseball America’s defensive rankings that had Matt Wieters of the Orioles first, Mauer second and Avila third.Avila, in a very short time, has become the best all-around player on the Tigers roster. The challenge now is to maintain the hunger that got him this far.Complacency has never been in Avila’s vocabulary. But just in case he discovers it, he knows who will be in his ear. His grandfather, Ralph Avila, a retired vice president with the Los Angeles Dodgers who ran their Latin American development program, doesn’t settle for imperfection.“My grandpa has a constant reminder for me: ‘Never be satisfied,’ ” Avila said. “I was batting in the .280s and having a pretty good season. He’s telling me he thinks I can hit .320! I go 3-for-4 with a walk and he’ll talk about the one at-bat… Read full this story
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