Two of the key players in the Yankees-Tigers ALDS — Detroit catcher Alex Avila and Yankees’ eighth inning setup man David Robertson, both first time All-Stars — were teammates at the University of Alabama. Teammates, but never batterymates.
“My sophomore season [2006] was his freshman season and it was a lot different back then,” recalled Robertson, who had established himself as a freshman All-American. “He was playing third base for us. I saw him catch one time when I came back to throw on the field, just to play catch with somebody. He was an athlete. He could play.”
And Avila, the son of Tigers’ assistant general manager Al Avila, has equally good memories of Robertson.
“When I was a freshman, he was a sophomore there and he was the closer for our SEC championship team,” Avila said. “I wasn’t a catcher then. I played third, I played first, I DH’d.
“He was a stud in college. What he’s been doing in the big leagues is not surprising to me. What he did in college was stellar, too. He always had the stuff to be an All-Star.”
