Christian Vázquez
Christian Vázquez | |
---|---|
Minnesota Twins – No. 8 | |
Catcher | |
Born: Bayamón, Puerto Rico | August 21, 1990|
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |
MLB debut | |
July 9, 2014, for the Boston Red Sox | |
MLB statistics (through May 24, 2024) | |
Batting average | .254 |
Home runs | 62 |
Runs batted in | 315 |
Teams | |
| |
Career highlights and awards | |
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Christian Rafael Vázquez (born August 21, 1990) is a Puerto Rican professional baseball catcher for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros.
Selected by the Red Sox in the ninth round of the
Professional career
Vázquez attended the
Vázquez next played two seasons for the
In 2014, Vázquez had a
Boston Red Sox
2014–2016
Vázquez made his MLB debut on July 9, starting at catcher against the Chicago White Sox; he was hitless in three at bats, while defensively tagging out a runner at the plate when Alejandro De Aza tried to score from first base on a double by Tyler Flowers.[4] Vázquez recorded his first career hit on July 11, off of the Houston Astros' Scott Feldman; Vázquez had three hits, three RBIs, and scored two runs in the game.[5] His first home run came on September 25, off of Jeremy Hellickson of the Tampa Bay Rays.[6] In 55 games played with the 2014 Red Sox, Vázquez batted .240 with a home run and 20 RBIs.
On April 2, 2015, Vázquez underwent
Vázquez split time between Boston and Pawtucket during 2016. He played in 42 Triple-A games, batting .270 with two home runs and 16 RBIs. With the 2016 Red Sox, Vázquez played in 57 MLB games, batting .227 with one home run and 12 RBIs.
2017–2019
During the
Vázquez started the season as the primary catcher for the
Vázquez started the 2019 season as one of two catchers for Boston, along with
2020–2022
During the start-delayed 2020 season, Vázquez was Boston's primary catcher. With the 2020 Red Sox, he batted .283 with seven home runs and 23 RBIs in 47 games.[17] Runners stole a major-league leading 21 bases against him, and he caught nine stealing, and there were a major-league leading 16 wild pitches as he was catching.[18]
Vázquez returned to the Red Sox in 2021 as the team's primary catcher. In 138 games during the regular season, he batted .258 with six home runs and 49 RBIs.[17] He also played in 11 postseason games, batting 9-for-32 (.281),[17] including a 13th-inning walk-off home run in Game 3 of the Division Series against Tampa Bay.[19] On November 7, the team exercised its option on Vázquez for 2022.[20] Vázquez returned as Boston's primary catcher, and through the end of July 2022 he batted .282 with eight home runs and 42 RBIs while appearing in 84 games (78 games at catcher).[17]
Houston Astros (2022)
On August 1, 2022, the Red Sox traded Vázquez to the Houston Astros for Wilyer Abreu and Enmanuel Valdez.[21] On August 3, Vázquez made his starting debut as an Astro at catcher against Boston.[22] In the August 5 contest versus the Cleveland Guardians, Vázquez tallied his first hit in an Astros uniform.[23] Vázquez tied a career high with four hits versus the Chicago White Sox on August 18 in a 21–5 win that included 25 hits, tied for both second-highest scoring output and most hits in team history.[24] In the seventh inning of the regular season finale on October 5 versus the Philadelphia Phillies, Vázquez homered for his first as an Astro.[25]
In the 2022 regular season between both teams, he batted .274/.315/.399 in 398 at bats, with 9 home runs and 52 RBIs.[26]
During the Astros World Series run, Vázquez had a big 2-run single in Game 3 of the ALCS against the New York Yankees which the Astros won 5–0. He also caught the Astros' combined no-hitter in Game 4 of the World Series, hurled by Cristian Javier, Bryan Abreu, Rafael Montero, and Ryan Pressly. The first combined no-hitter in World Series history, it was the second no-hitter overall in World Series play after Don Larsen's perfect game in 1956,[27] the 15th in Astros' history, and the first of Vázquez' career.[28] In Game 6 of the World Series, Vázquez tacked on an insurance run with an RBI single to make it a 4–1 game and the Astros defeated the Phillies to give Vázquez his second World Series title.[29]
Following the World Series, he became a free agent.[30]
Minnesota Twins
On December 16, 2022, Vázquez signed a three-year, $30 million contract with the Minnesota Twins.[31]
Personal life
Vázquez credits his development as a catcher in part to the Molina brothers (Yadier, Jose, and Bengie), who have all played in MLB.[32]
Vázquez and his wife, Gabriela, married in 2018.[33]
See also
- List of Houston Astros no-hitters
- List of Major League Baseball no-hitters
- List of Major League Baseball players from Puerto Rico
References
- ^ a b "Christian Vázquez". soxprospects.com.
- ^ "Red Sox prospect Christian Vazquez added to World Futures Fame roster". Boston Red Sox. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
- ^ Tim Britton. "Red Sox designate A.J. Pierzynski, call up Christian Vazquez". providencejournal.com. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
- ^ "Boston Red Sox 5, Chicago White Sox 4". Retrosheet. July 9, 2014. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
- ^ "Boston Red Sox 8, Houston Astros 3". Retrosheet. July 11, 2014. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
- ^ "Boston Red Sox 11, Tampa Bay Rays 1". Retrosheet. September 25, 2014. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
- ^ Elliott, Peter (April 3, 2015). "Boston Red Sox Dealt Huge Blow With Christian Vazquez to Undergo Tommy John Surgery". Talking Baws. Archived from the original on May 26, 2015. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
- ^ Bradford, Rob (February 22, 2016). "Christian Vazquez admits feeling pain in surgically repaired right elbow, relieved to discover it's scar tissue". WEEI Full Count.
- ^ "Boston Red Sox 12, Cleveland Indians 10". Retrosheet. August 1, 2017. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
- ^ Theisen, Laura (August 1, 2017). "Boston And Cleveland Just Played The Game Of The Year". deadspin.com. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
- ^ "Red Sox Roster & Staff – Transactions". MLB.com. July 2018. Archived from the original on February 6, 2020. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
- ^ Mastrodonato, Jason (July 10, 2018). "Red Sox notebook: Christian Vazquez out 6-8 weeks". Boston Herald. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
- ^ "Red Sox Roster & Staff – Transactions". MLB.com. August 2018. Archived from the original on March 28, 2019. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
- ^ "Red Sox Roster & Staff – Transactions". MLB.com. September 2018. Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
- ^ "Boston Red Sox win 2018 World Series". MLB. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
- ^ Silverman, Michael (March 25, 2019). "Red Sox notebook: Sandy Leon the odd man out". Boston Herald. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e "Christian Vázquez Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
- ^ "Major League Leaderboards » 2020 » All Positions » Fielding Statistics | FanGraphs Baseball". www.fangraphs.com.
- ^ Browne, Ian (October 10, 2021). "Vázquez the hero as Sox walk off to 2-1 lead". MLB.com. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
- ^ Speier, Alex (November 7, 2021). "J.D. Martinez, Christian Vázquez to remain with Red Sox, while Eduardo Rodriguez receives qualifying offer". The Boston Globe. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
- ^ "Astros add backstop depth in deal for Vázquez". MLB.com. August 1, 2022. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
- ^ "Trey Mancini homers in first start with Astros since trade". ESPN.com. Associated Press. August 3, 2022. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
- ^ "Christian Vázquez 2022 batting game logs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
- ^ "Bregman 2 HRs, 2 doubles, 6 RBIs, Astros trample Chisox 21–5". ESPN.com. Associated Press. August 18, 2022. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
- ^ "Valdez fans 10 as Astros beat Phillies 3–2 in finale". ESPN.com. October 5, 2022. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
- ^ "Christian Vazquez Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ Kilgore, Adam (November 2, 2022). "World Series Game 4 highlights and analysis". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
- ^ Lerner, Danielle (November 3, 2022). "In a combined no-hitter, Astros catcher Christian Vázquez is the constant". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
- ^ Rome, Chandler (November 5, 2022). "Undisputed: 'It proves we're the best team in baseball ... They have nothing to say now.'". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
- ^ Van Doren, Kenny (November 6, 2022). "Six Houston Astros declared free agents". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
- ^ "Twins sign Christian Vázquez". MLB.com. December 16, 2022. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
- ^ "Red Sox' Christian Vazquez getting help from Molinas - the Boston Globe". The Boston Globe.
- ^ "Red Sox's Christian Vazquez marries girlfriend in Puerto Rico". November 25, 2018.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet