Alex Avila had been breaking a sweat for seven innings. Then the sweat nearly broke him.
The White Sox catcher was with the Tigers on July 10, 2011, cooking from the inside out the day before the All-Star break. The temperature flashed 95 degrees and the heat index screamed higher at Kaufman Stadium in Kansas City. Avila's gear absorbed profuse perspiration faster than he could stay hydrated. His team was clinging to a one-run lead.
"By the eighth inning I was feeling it," Avila said Thursday before an appointment at U.S. Cellular Field with the Tigers that began at 7:10 p.