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How an old friendship with Al Avila energized the Detroit Tigers' rebuild 40 years later

Detroit Tigers selected 5 more players Thursday, Day 2 of 2020 MLB draft, after taking Spencer Torkelson No. 1 overall Wednesday. A look at the class. Wochit

The friendship goes back almost 40 years.

It is based on baseball and trust and shared experiences and it has had an interesting influence on the Detroit Tigers' rebuild.

When Paul Mainieri was coaching baseball in the 1980s at St. Thomas University — an NAIA school in Miami — he hired Al Avila to be an assistant coach and work with the pitchers and catchers.

“I was 28 and I think Al might have been 26,” Mainieri said.