Christian Vázquez

BIOGRAPHY

Christian Vázquez was born August 21, 1990, in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. He is a catcher in the MLB.

Listed at 5 feet 9 inches and 195 pounds, he both bats and throws right-handed. Vázquez has drawn accolades for his powerful throwing arm and credits his development as a catcher in part to the Molina brothers (Yadier, Jose, and Bengie), who have all played Major 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. 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. 

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 a catcher, two as a designated hitter, and two as a third baseman. 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). Vázquez started the season as the primary catcher for the 2018 Red Sox.

Vázquez returned to the Red Sox in 2021 as the team's primary catcher. In-Game 3 of the 2021 American League Division Series against the Tampa Bay Rays, he hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the 13th inning to win 6–4.

On August 1, 2022, the Red Sox traded Vázquez to the Houston Astros for Wilyer Abreu 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, Vázquez tallied his first hit in an Astros uniform. 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. In the seventh inning of the regular season finale on October 5 versus the Philadelphia Phillies, 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 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, 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.

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