Christian Vázquez

Christian Rafael Vázquez [vahs'-kays] (born August 21, 1990) is a Puerto Rican professional baseball catcher for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). Listed at 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 m) and 195 pounds (88 kg), he both bats and throws right-handed.

This article is about the Puerto Rican baseball player. For the Venezuelan conductor, see Christian Vásquez. For the Filipino actor, see Christian Vasquez. For the Argentine footballer, see Cristian Vázquez. For the Mexican actor, see Christian Vázquez (actor).

Christian Vázquez
Vázquez with the Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox – No. 7
Catcher / Infielder
Born: (1990-08-21) August 21, 1990
Bayamón, Puerto Rico
Bats: Right Throws: Right
MLB debut
July 9, 2014, for the Boston Red Sox
MLB statistics
(through September 26, 2020)
Batting average.259
Home runs40
Runs batted in175
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Professional career

Minor League Baseball

Vázquez attended the Puerto Rico Baseball Academy and High School, and was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the ninth round of the 2008 MLB Draft.[1] His first professional team was the rookie league Gulf Coast Red Sox in 2008 and part of 2009, where he batted 21-for-94 (.223) in 31 games. During 2009, he also played 21 games for the Class A Short Season Lowell Spinners, where he had a .123 average.

Vázquez next played two seasons for the Class A Greenville Drive. In 2010, he batted .263 with 3 home runs and 32 runs batted in (RBIs) in 79 games. In 2011, he batted .283 with 18 home runs and 84 RBIs in 105 games. In 2012, he batted a combined .254 with seven home runs and 46 RBIs in a total of 101 games for the Class A-Advanced Salem Red Sox and the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs, compiling a .986 fielding percentage while throwing out a 40% of potential base stealers (49-for-122).[1] In 2013, Vázquez played 96 games for Double-A Portland, batting .289 with five home runs and 48 RBIs; he also played a single game for the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox, going 0-for-3 at the plate.

In 2014, Vázquez had a slash line of .275/.331/.715 in his first 62 games for Triple-A Pawtucket, and was named to the International League All-Star team. In addition, he was a late addition to the All-Star Futures Game,[2] but was replaced on the roster due to his promotion to the major leagues on July 9.[3]

Boston Red Sox
Vázquez in his catcher's gear in 2014
2014

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.

2015

On April 2, Vázquez underwent Tommy John surgery and was placed on the 60-day disabled list;[7] he missed the entire season.[8]

2016

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

During the 2017 Red Sox regular season, Vázquez batted .290 with five home runs and 32 RBIs; he also had seven stolen bases. He played in 99 games; 95 as catcher, two as designated hitter, and two as third baseman.

In an August 1 game at Fenway Park, Vázquez belted a ninth-inning three-run walk-off home run to beat the Cleveland Indians, 12–10,[9] capping a comeback in what some considered to be the best game of the season.[10]

The 2017 American League Division Series was the first postseason appearance for Vázquez. He started two of the series' four games, batting 2-for-6 (.333), as the Red Sox fell to the eventual World Series champions, the Houston Astros.

2018

Vázquez started the season as the primary catcher for the 2018 Red Sox, backed up by Sandy León. On July 8, he was placed on the disabled list due to a right fifth finger fracture.[11] At the time, Vázquez was batting .213 for the season, with three home runs and 14 RBIs. On July 10, it was reported that his injury would require surgery in order to insert a pin, and that he would miss six to eight weeks.[12] Vázquez was sent on a rehabilitation assignments with Double-A Portland on August 27, and Triple-A Pawtucket on August 28.[13] He was actived from the disabled list on September 1.[14] Overall for the regular season, he appeared in 80 games, batting .207 with three home runs and 16 RBIs. In the postseason, Vázquez appeared in 12 games, going 8-for-37 at the plate (.216), as the Red Sox won the World Series in five games over the Los Angeles Dodgers.[15]

2019

Vázquez started the 2019 season as one of two catchers for Boston, along with Blake Swihart,[16] who was later traded. On June 21, Vázquez hit a walk-off two-run home run in the 10th to cap a comeback against the Toronto Blue Jays. Vázquez appeared in a career-high 138 games, batting .276 with 66 runs scored, 26 doubles, 23 home runs and 72 RBIs.[17] He was also a finalist for the Rawlings Gold Glove Award at catcher, leading all catchers in fielding percentage (.999).

2020

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]

Personal

Vázquez credits his development as a catcher in part to the Molina brothers (Yadier, Jose, and Bengie), who have all played Major League Baseball.

See also

References
  1. "Christian Vázquez". soxprospects.com.
  2. "Red Sox prospect Christian Vazquez added to World Futures Fame roster". Boston Red Sox. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  3. Tim Britton. "Red Sox designate A.J. Pierzynski, call up Christian Vazquez". providencejournal.com. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  4. "Boston Red Sox 5, Chicago White Sox 4". Retrosheet. July 9, 2014. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
  5. "Boston Red Sox 8, Houston Astros 3". Retrosheet. July 11, 2014. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
  6. "Boston Red Sox 11, Tampa Bay Rays 1". Retrosheet. September 25, 2014. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
  7. Elliott, Peter (April 3, 2015). "Boston Red Sox Dealt Huge Blow With Christian Vazquez to Undergo Tommy John Surgery". Talking Baws.
  8. 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.
  9. "Boston Red Sox 12, Cleveland Indians 10". Retrosheet. August 1, 2017. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
  10. Theisen, Laura (August 1, 2017). "Boston And Cleveland Just Played The Game Of The Year". deadspin.com. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  11. "Red Sox Roster & Staff – Transactions". MLB.com. July 2018. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
  12. Mastrodonato, Jason (July 10, 2018). "Red Sox notebook: Christian Vazquez out 6-8 weeks". Boston Herald. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
  13. "Red Sox Roster & Staff – Transactions". MLB.com. August 2018. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  14. "Red Sox Roster & Staff – Transactions". MLB.com. September 2018. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
  15. "Boston Red Sox win 2018 World Series". MLB. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
  16. Silverman, Michael (March 25, 2019). "Red Sox notebook: Sandy Leon the odd man out". Boston Herald. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  17. "Christian Vázquez Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  18. "Major League Leaderboards » 2020 » All Positions » Fielding Statistics | FanGraphs Baseball". www.fangraphs.com.
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