Detroit Tigers vs. Texas Rangers - May 21, 2017

Detroit Tigers catcher Alex Avila (31) waits for a pitch while playing first base during their MLB game against the Texas Rangers at Comerica Park in Detroit, on Sunday, May 21, 2017. (Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)

HOUSTON -- Alex Avila, his hand wrapped and iced and still smarting after being smacked by a bat on Wednesday night, has a modest proposal for Major League Baseball.

Fix the rarely used catcher's interference call.

Here's what Avila said happened in the third inning:

On a 2-2 count, Daniel Norris fired in what appeared to be strike three to Astros lead-off man George Springer. The ball landed in Avila's mitt. Then he felt a late swing by Springer make contact with his wrist.

While Avila recoiled in pain, Springer was awarded first base. Instead of a strikeout, the Norris had a baserunner who would eventually come around to score. (The run, significant at the time, ultimately didn't figure in the Tigers' 6-3 win).

Avila was fuming, not so much at Springer or home plate umpire James Hoye, but at MLB rules that favor the batter at the expense of the catcher.

"The ball was in my glove and he decided to swing," Avila said. "I know he's not doing that on purpose, but the ball's in my glove and then he swings and he gets awarded first base? I think that might be a rule that Major League Baseball should look at."

The Astros have now reached first base on catcher's interference calls six times this year. No other team has more than two. Most have none.

The fact didn't escape Avila's notice. But even if those numbers are coincidental, the nature of the rule invites problems, Avila said.

"You just stick the bat down and hit my glove, hit my hand, and get awarded first base," he said.

Avila raised some other sensible questions. Why is it that catchers can take all manners of abuse behind the plate and there's never a repercussion for the batter?

Yet when the catcher's mitt and the bat make contact, the batter is automatically awarded first base, with no freedom for the umpire to determine who is at fault.

"There is no leeway," Avila said. "If the bat hits any part of the catcher, then he gets awarded first base. Now, on the flip side, a lot of times hitters like to spin around and hit us in the head. So maybe there should be some sort of rule against that and we get a strike or something."

Avila, while still indignant about the play, said he doesn't believe his hand was seriously injured.

"I figured if something broke, I wouldn't have been able to catch," he said. "I'm just a little sore."