Jorge Vázquez

Jorge Alberto Vázquez (Chato)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 230 lb.

• Born March 15, 1982 in Culiacan, Sinaloa Mexico

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Jorge Vázquez has been a productive hitter in the Mexican League from 2004-2008. He has led the league in slugging at least twice.

Vázquez debuted in 1999 at age 17, going 0 for 4 with two strikeouts for the Tigres de México. In 2000, he hit .244/.396/.319 in 62 games for two Mexican League clubs. He spent 2001 back with the Tigres, hitting .284 with 5 HR and 24 RBI. In '02, the 20-year-old batted .275 and hit 10 home runs. The next season, he continued to develop, hitting .279 with 14 HR and 60 RBI.

In 2004, Vázquez posted a batting line of .329/.374/.588 for the Tigres, smacking 21 home runs and driving in 61 in 289 AB. He was 6th in the Mexican League in homers. The hefty first baseman emerged as an even bigger threat in 2005, when he hit .379/.413/.796. He led the Liga in slugging by an amazing .113 ahead of runner-up Javier Robles and he finished second to Robles in average. His 33 homers were second to Roberto Saucedo - two fewer homers in 121 fewer at-bats. He was named to the League All-Star team as the best first baseman in the league.

Jorge continued his rampage in 2006, batting .359/.419/.739 with 31 HR and 98 RBI in just 75 games. He led the league in slugging once more, this time by .023 ahead of Derrick White. He was third in RBI despite having 141 fewer at-bats than the leader and 86 fewer than the runner-up. No one else with under 300 AB had even 75 RBI. He was second in homers, just two behind Eduardo Rios, who had 141 more AB. On May 13, he became the 5th Mexican League player to hit four home runs in a game, following Derek Bryant, Roy Johnson, Miguel Ojeda and Ricardo Sáenz. He helped Mexico win Bronze at the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games.

In the 2006 Americas qualifier for the 2008 Olympics, the Sinaloa native hit .323/.353/.742 for Mexico with 4 HR and 7 RBI in 9 games; he was their main DH as Saucedo manned first usually. Mexico failed to qualify for the Olympics but did earn a spot in the 2008 Final Olympic Qualification Tournament. In the 2006 qualifying event, Vázquez tied for the home run lead, even with Yulieski Gourriel, Alexander Mayeta, Carlos Valencia, Mark Reynolds and Jose Aponte.

Vázquez batted .323/.383/.605 with 17 HR and 49 RBI in 58 games for the Tigres in 2007, again showing an excellent bat in limited action. He was on Mexico's roster for the 2007 Pan American Games but did not play as his team won a Bronze Medal. Jorge hit .339/.398/.612 for the 2008 Tigres with 59 RBI and 18 homers in 56 games. He was on Mexico's roster for the 2009 World Baseball Classic. In the Classic, he was Mexico's DH, hitting .294/.368/.529 with 5 runs and 5 RBI in 5 games, tying for second on the team in runs (one behind Adrián González). He hit a grand slam to put Mexico ahead 5-3 in a 17-7 win over Australia; the big blow came off Craig Anderson.

Vázquez signed with the New York Yankees for 2009. He was named MVP of the 2011 Caribbean Series after hitting two key homers to give the Yaquis de Obregón their first-ever Caribbean title. He was also named the first baseman on the tournament's All-Star team.

Vazquez ended the 2016 Caribbean Series by hitting a walk-off homer off Renee Cortez of the Tigres de Aragua to lead off the bottom of the 9th inning for the Venados de Mazatlan in the championship game on February 7th. His blast gave the Mexicans a 5-4 win and completed an unbeaten 6-0 run in the tournament.

Sources

• The Mexican League: Comprehensive Player Statistics by Pedro Treto Cisneros
• 2005-2006 Baseball Guides
• MILB.com
• Baseballdecuba.com
• Defunct IBAF site
• World Baseball Classic