Concussions, knee injury have hampered performance of former standout Detroit catcher
I don't know if I would've answered that correctly if I had to blurt out an answer before I lost a finger for every second I hesitated. Avila started getting regular playing time as a 23-year-old, while Flowers needed a Ramon Castro broken finger to get backup work at 25. That difference in career trajectories has created quite a disparity with the experience stats:
| Avila | Flowers | |
| Starts at catcher | 593 | 371 |
| Innings at catcher | 5,225 | 3,294 |
| Plate appearances | 2,084 | 1,267 |
Avila established a beachhead with a tremendous 2011.