Avila wins Silver Slugger award

Second-year catcher Alex Avila was rewarded for his breakout season with the bat Wednesday, earning a Louisville Slugger Silver Slugger Award as the American League's best offensive catcher, after missing out a day earlier on a Gold Glove award, as the AL's best defensive catcher.

Avila hit .295 in 2011 — nearly 70 points higher than a year earlier — finishing with 19 home runs, four triples, 33 doubles and 82 RBI.

One of five first-time honorees in the American League — along with Boston's Adrian Gonzalez and Jacoby Ellsbury, Cleveland's Asdrubal Cabrera and former Tiger Curtis Granderson — Avila is the youngest among the American League honorees at 24.