Christian Rafael Vázquez (born August 21, 1990) is a Puerto Rican professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

for the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

and

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

. Selected by the Red Sox in the ninth round of the 2008 MLB draft, Vázquez made his MLB debut with Boston in 2014, and was a part of their

2018 World Series The 2018 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's 2018 Major League Baseball season, 2018 season. The 114th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League ( ...

championship team. He was traded to the Astros in 2022. The Astros won the

2022 World Series The 2022 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2022 Major League Baseball season, 2022 season. The 118th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL ...

with Vázquez, who caught the third

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter or no-hit game is a game in which a team does not record a hit (baseball), hit through conventional methods. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in ...

in postseason history, and second in World Series history, during the series.

Professional career

Vázquez attended the Puerto Rico Baseball Academy and High School, and was selected by the

in the ninth round of the 2008 MLB Draft. His first professional team was the rookie league

Gulf Coast Red Sox The Florida Complex League Red Sox are a professional baseball team competing in the rookie-level Florida Complex League (FCL) of Minor League Baseball. The team is owned and operated by the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). Prior t ...

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 Class A Short Season (officially Short-Season A) was a level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States from 1965 through 2020. In the hierarchy of minor league classifications, it was below Triple-A, Double-A, Class A-Advanced (crea ...

Lowell Spinners The Lowell Spinners were a baseball team based in Lowell, Massachusetts. From 1996 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYPL) as the Class A Short Season affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. With Major Leagu ...

, where he had a .123 average. Vázquez next played two seasons for the Class A

Greenville Drive The Greenville Drive are a Minor League Baseball team based in Greenville, South Carolina. They are the High-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox and are a member of the South Atlantic League. They play their home games at Fluor Field at the West E ...

. In 2010, he batted .263 with 3

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s and 32

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

(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 High-A, officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing, is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A and D ...

Salem Red Sox The Salem Red Sox are a Minor League Baseball affiliate of the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB), based in Salem, Virginia, Salem, an independent city adjacent to Roanoke, Virginia. The team competes at the Single-A level in the Car ...

and the Double-A

Portland Sea Dogs The Portland Sea Dogs are a Minor League Baseball team based in Portland, Maine, playing in the Eastern League (1938–present), Eastern League. Established in 1994, the Sea Dogs are the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red ...

, compiling a .986

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a baseball positions, defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putout ...

while throwing out a 40% of potential base stealers (49-for-122). 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 The Pawtucket Red Sox, known colloquially as the PawSox, were a professional minor league baseball club based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. From 1973 to 2020, the team was a member of the International League and served as the Triple-A affiliate ...

, going 0-for-3 at the plate. In 2014, Vázquez had a

slash line This is an alphabetical list of selected unofficial and specialized terms, phrases, and other jargon used in baseball, along with their definitions, including illustrative examples for many entries. 0–9 0 :"Oh and ..." See count. 1 ...

of .275/.331/.715 in his first 62 games for Triple-A Pawtucket, and was named to the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

All-Star team. In addition, he was a late addition to the

All-Star Futures Game The All-Star Futures Game is an annual baseball exhibition game hosted by Major League Baseball (MLB) in conjunction with the mid-summer MLB All-Star Game. A team of American League-affiliated prospects competes against a team of National League- ...

, but was replaced on the roster due to his promotion to the major leagues on July 9.

Boston Red Sox

2014–2016

Vázquez made his MLB debut on July 9, starting at catcher against the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

; he was hitless in three

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens upon completion of his turn at bat, ...

s, while defensively tagging out a runner at the plate when

Alejandro De Aza Alejandro Alberto De Aza Ceda (born April 11, 1984) is a Dominican professional baseball outfielder for the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for ...

tried to score from first base on a

double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...

Tyler Flowers Cole Tyler Flowers (born January 24, 1986) is an American former professional baseball catcher. Flowers was drafted by the Braves in the 33rd round of the 2005 MLB draft. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago White Sox from 20 ...

. Vázquez recorded his first career hit on July 11, off of the

Scott Feldman Scott Wynne Feldman (born February 7, 1983) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers, Chicago Cubs, Baltimore Orioles, Houston Astros, Toronto ...

; Vázquez had three hits, three RBIs, and scored two

run Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...

s in the game. His first home run came on September 25, off of

Jeremy Hellickson Jeremy Robert Hellickson (born April 8, 1987) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays, Arizona Diamondbacks, Philadelphia Phillies, Baltimore Orioles, and Washington Na ...

of the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

. 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

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, sometimes referred to as Tommy John surgery is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's body, ...

and was placed on the 60-day

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 Major League Baseball season, 2019 season, it was known as the disabl ...

; he missed the entire season. 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 2017 Red Sox regular season, Vázquez batted .290 with five home runs and 32 RBIs; he also had seven

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out ...

s. He played in 99 games; 95 as catcher, two as

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. Unlike other players in a team's lineup, they generally only play as an offensive player and usually do not play defense as ...

, and two as

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the Baseball scorekeep ...

. In an August 1 game at

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a ballpark located in Boston, Massachusetts, less than one mile from Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home field of Major League Baseball's (MLB) Boston Red Sox. While the stadium was built in 1912, it was substantia ...

, Vázquez belted a ninth-inning three-run

walk-off home run In baseball, a walk-off home run is a home run that ends the game. For a home run to end the game, it must be hit in the bottom of the final inning and generate enough runs to exceed the opponent's score. Because the opponent will not have an opp ...

to beat the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

, 12–10, capping a comeback in what some considered to be the best game of the season. The

2017 American League Division Series The 2017 American League Division Series were two best-of-five-games series held in Major League Baseball’s (MLB) 2017 postseason to determine the participating teams in the 2017 American League Championship Series. The three divisional winne ...

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 The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

champions, the

. Vázquez started the season as the primary catcher for the 2018 Red Sox, backed up by

Sandy León Sandy David León López (born March 13, 1989) is a Venezuelan professional baseball catcher in the Atlanta Braves organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Washington Nationals, Boston Red Sox, Miami Marlins, ...

. On July 8, he was placed on the

due to a right fifth finger fracture. 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. Vázquez was sent on a rehabilitation assignments with Double-A Portland on August 27, and Triple-A Pawtucket on August 28. He was activated from the disabled list on September 1. 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

in five games over the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

. Vázquez started the 2019 season as one of two catchers for Boston, along with

Blake Swihart Blake Aubry Swihart (born April 3, 1992) is an American professional baseball catcher and outfielder who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox and Arizona Diamondbacks. Listed at and , he ...

, 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. He was also a finalist for the

Rawlings Gold Glove Award The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances. It is awarded at each fieldin ...

at catcher, leading all catchers in

(.999).

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. 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. 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. He also played in 11 postseason games, batting 9-for-32 (.281), including a 13th-inning

in Game 3 of the

Division Series The Division Series is the quarterfinal round of the Major League Baseball postseason. Four series are played in this round, two each for both the American League and the National League. 1981 season The first use of the term "Division Series ...

against Tampa Bay. On November 7, the team exercised its option on Vázquez for 2022. 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).

Houston Astros (2022)

On August 1, 2022, the

Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ch ...

traded Vázquez to the

for

Wilyer Abreu Wilyer David Abreu (born June 24, 1999) is a Venezuelan professional baseball outfielder for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2023. Career Houston Astros On July 2, 2017, Abreu signed with the Houston A ...

and Enmanuel Valdez. On August 3, Vázquez made his starting debut as an Astro at catcher against Boston. In the August 5 contest versus the

Cleveland Guardians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. Since , the team has played its home gam ...

, Vázquez tallied his first hit in an Astros uniform. Vázquez tied a career high with four hits versus the

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. In the seventh inning of the regular season finale on October 5 versus the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

, Vázquez homered for his first as an Astro. In the 2022 regular season between both teams, he batted .274/.315/.399 in 398 at bats, with 9 home runs and 52 RBIs. During the Astros World Series run, Vázquez had a big 2-run single in Game 3 of the ALCS against the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

which the Astros won 5–0. He also caught the Astros' combined no-hitter in Game 4 of the

, hurled by Cristian Javier, Bryan Abreu,

Rafael Montero Rafael Montero may refer to: * Rafael Montero (baseball) (born 1990), Dominican baseball pitcher * Rafael Montero (film director) (born 1953), Mexican film director * Rafael Montero (cyclist) (1913–?), Chilean cyclist {{hndis, Montero, Rafael ...

, and

Ryan Pressly Thomas Ryan Pressly (born December 15, 1988) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Minnesota Twins and Houston Astros. He has also played for Team ...

. The first combined no-hitter in

history, it was the second no-hitter overall in World Series play after

Don Larsen's perfect game On October 8, 1956, in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series, pitcher Don Larsen of the New York Yankees threw a perfect game against the Brooklyn Dodgers at Yankee Stadium. It was the only no-hitter in World Series history until the Houston Astros pi ...

in , the 15th in Astros' history, and the first of Vázquez' career. 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. Following the World Series, he became a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

Minnesota Twins

On December 16, 2022, Vázquez signed a three-year, $30 million contract with the

Personal life

Vázquez credits his development as a catcher in part to the Molina brothers (

Yadier Yadier is a masculine given name. It has Hebrew origins where it means "friend or companion". It is a Spanish-language name, popular in Cuba and Puerto Rico. People with the name * Yadier Álvarez (born 1996), Cuban baseball pitcher * Yadier Moli ...

Jose Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. Given name Mishnaic and Talmudic periods * Jose ben Abin * Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galilean * Jose ben Halafta ...

, and Bengie), who have all played in MLB. Vázquez and his wife, Gabriela, married in 2018.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vazquez, Christian 1990 births Living people Atenienses de Manatí (baseball) players Boston Red Sox players Cangrejeros de Santurce (baseball) players Greenville Drive players Gulf Coast Red Sox players Houston Astros players Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente catchers Lowell Spinners players Indios de Mayagüez players Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball players from Puerto Rico Minnesota Twins players Pawtucket Red Sox players Baseball players from Bayamón, Puerto Rico Portland Sea Dogs players Salem Red Sox players Senadores de San Juan players Surprise Saguaros players 2023 World Baseball Classic players