Detroit — For the most part, Christopher Ilitch delivered the news like you would expect from the CEO. Directly. Unemotional.
“I’m looking for us to make progress each and every year and if we do that, ultimately, we’re going to accomplish our objectives,” he said Wednesday afternoon. “I felt our progress certainly stalled this season.”
And with that, he announced that after 22 years, he was parting ways with Tigers vice president and general manager Al Avila.
“Once I decided to make a change over the last couple of days, I sat down with Al and thanked him for his 22 years of service. He understood. But out of respect for Al, I will keep the rest of our conversation private.”
But the reality is, Avila has been with the Tigers since 2002 and is still very close to the Ilitch family. He was hired by Mike Ilitch to replace Dave Dombrowski in 2015. Christopher gave Avila a contract extension in 2019 that was going to expire after next season.
More: ‘Al was great to me’: Hinch calls working relationship with Avila effective
There was more to this than a cold business transaction.
“Al is a good man,” Ilitch said. “He put his heart and soul into the Tigers’ organization to try to build a winner for our fans. We sat down and talked and he understood. He’s a Tiger through and through and he wants what’s best for our organization.”
Ilitch said he had no regrets about giving Avila the extension.
“This is one of the most difficult jobs in baseball, to start from the bottom and build it back up,” Ilitch said. “Al took on that assignment. He didn’t complain. He worked hard at it and he got a lot of good work done.
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And I appreciate that. Our organization appreciates that.”
But after building tangible momentum at the end of the 2021 season and making what were believed to be key talent acquisitions in the offseason — spending $237.5 million on Javier Baez, Eduardo Rodriguez, Tucker Barnhart and Andrew Chafin — everything fell apart this season.
More: What they’re saying: Reaction to the Tigers firing general manager Al Avila
Between a never-ending stream of injuries, to the strange defection Rodriguez, to massive underperformances by key players, the Tigers went into the game Wednesday 25 games under .500.
Random chants of “Fire Avila” could be heard ringing out most nights from the fans at Comerica Park. Tigers nation had identified its scapegoat on sports talk radio and on social media, and it was Avila.
Although Ilitch said there was no final straw, it was not a positive sign that during the Lou Whitaker tribute on Saturday, Ilitch and Avila sat on the dais but neither was introduced.
The Tigers certainly knew that Avila would be booed mercilessly, dampening the festivities.
“It’s really just about progress,” Ilitch said. “It’s been well-documented and commented on by many. For me, it’s about making progress.”
Asked about the timing of the decision, Ilitch said, “Once I made the decision, there was no reason to wait. I wanted to get a jump on the search process.”
Ilitch vowed to use every resource available to him within the organization, as well as the contacts he’s made in baseball, to find the “right” general manager to lead the Tigers’ baseball operations.
“This will be an exhaustive and thorough search,” he said, adding that internal candidates will also be considered.
Assistant general manager Sam Menzin will take over the day-to-day duties on an interim basis.
Manager AJ Hinch will also be involved in the search.
“This organization committed a ton to me and vice versa,” Hinch said. “I want to help get it right. Today is another reminder that we haven’t succeeded…Our record reflects where we’re at and we all feel responsible for where we’re at.
“I said at the All-Star break, we need to push the ball forward and move in a direction more aggressively. I didn’t anticipate the personnel change, but I do think there are a lot of areas we can address and we will when we get our new leader in place.”
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Hinch also made it clear that he was not interested in being the general manager.
“I’m the manager,” he said.
In the two years he’s been here, though, he’s been influential in rebuilding the infrastructure of the player development department. He’s had a voice in the free-agent acquisitions and in overall roster construction.
Ilitch was asked if bringing in a new general manager means the building process will have to naturally take a step back.
“For us, the organization has made so much progress over the last few years, we need to just re-establish that momentum we had heading into this season and keep building,” he said. “The answer to your question is no. We keep building. We just have to get our momentum back. We have a lot of foundation pieces in place and we build on that.”
Hinch addressed the team shortly before the news broke.
“A day of change,” he said. “These are hard jobs, difficult times and this has not been a great season — 2022 has been a challenge on a lot of levels. We love Al. As I told the group, everyone of us in this room is here, for one reason or another, because of Al.
“It hits you. But Chris (Ilitch) was up front with me about what his expectations are. The organization has to refind itself because of a massive change at the top. Our job better be sticking to the day-to-day.”
Avila was not personally available to the media, but he made a statement through the team.
“For nearly 22 years, I have given my heart and soul to this franchise, and I want to thank Mr. and Mrs. Ilitch, along with Chris, for the opportunity and treating me and my family as their own,” Avila said. “We’ve celebrated successes and enjoyed great moments, and I’m proud to have worked with so many talented people in baseball operations and throughout the organization. I’ll cherish our friendships and the successes we all celebrated together.
“To Tigers fans, you’re the best and you deserve a winner. I wish the results would have been better this season but know there is a lot to look forward to in the coming years. God Bless everyone.”
chris.mccosky@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @cmccosky