Five days after Alex Avila snagged a $2-million deal to rejoin the Tigers, he reeled in the catch of a lifetime.
Fishing 20 miles off the coast of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Dec. 28, Avila and a band of relatives caught a 585-pound swordfish.
"You won't find those," Avila said this week, "in Lake St. Clair."
On an unusually calm-water day in December, and with family in town for the holidays, Avila, brother Alan, cousin Nick, uncle Ralph and father Al — the Tigers general manager — decided to take the boat out.
They were joined by Avila's friend, Mark Schonger, who's the fishing guru.