Ramón Vázquez
| Ramón Vázquez | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Ramón during batting practice at the Rangers home opener on April 8, 2008. | |||
| Infielder | |||
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Born: August 21, 1976 Aibonito, Puerto Rico | |||
| |||
| MLB debut | |||
| September 7, 2001, for the Seattle Mariners | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| October 4, 2009, for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .254 | ||
| Home runs | 22 | ||
| Run batted in | 176 | ||
| Teams | |||
Ramón Luis Vázquez (born August 21, 1976) is a former Puerto Rican professional baseball infielder. Vázquez played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners (2001), San Diego Padres (2002-2004), Boston Red Sox (2005), Cleveland Indians (2005-2006), Texas Rangers (2007-2008), and Pittsburgh Pirates (2009). He bats left-handed and throws right-handed. In 2014, it was announced that Vazquez would become the hitting coach for the Gulf Coast League Astros under manager Marty Malloy.
Playing career
Vázquez attended Barrio Valle Real High School in Cidra, Puerto Rico and Indian Hills Community College in Centerville, Iowa. He was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 27th round (734th overall) of the 1995 Major League Baseball draft.
Vázquez debuted with the Mariners in 2001. Following the 2001 season, he was traded with Tom Lampkin, Brett Tomko and cash to the San Diego Padres for Alex Arias, Ben Davis and Wascar Serrano.
Following the 2004 season, Vázquez was traded with David Pauley, Jay Payton and cash to the Boston Red Sox for Dave Roberts following the 2004 season. On July 7, 2005, he was traded by the Red Sox the Cleveland Indians for Alex Cora.
Vázquez became a minor league free agent after the 2006 season, and on November 17, 2006, signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers. Midseason injuries to Rangers third baseman Hank Blalock and second baseman Ian Kinsler forced Vázquez into an everyday role for the first time since the 2003 season.
On August 22, 2007, Vazquez had seven RBI with two homers in a record-setting 30–3 win over the Baltimore Orioles.[1]
On May 12, 2008, against his former team, the Seattle Mariners, Vázquez hit a walk-off home run in the 10th inning off Brandon Morrow.
On July 29, 2008, Vázquez victimized the Mariners again with last at bat heroics. After his third error of the game allowed the Seattle to take a 10–9 lead in the top of the 9th, Vázquez doubled to right-center field off Mariners closer J. J. Putz, just out of Ichiro's reach, to drive in 2 runs as the Rangers won the game 11–10. In a postgame interview with Jim Knox, broadcast over the stadium speakers, Vázquez thanked all the fans that were cheering him on despite his three errors, and also told those fans who booed him to "Take that, *BLEEP*!" (Vázquez did not curse, but rather sounded out the bleep.)
On December 12, 2008, Vázquez signed a two-year deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Ramón also participated in the 2009 World Baseball classic representing Puerto Rico in the spring of 2009 where he played 3rd base.[2] His only home run of 2009 came against the Florida Marlins. He finished the season with 17 runs, 7 doubles, no triples, 1 home run, 16 runs batted in, 1 stolen base, to go along with a .230 average, a .335 on-base percentage, and a .279 slg percentage in 204 at bats.
On April 4, 2010, in a last-minute roster move, Vazquez was designated for assignment by the Pirates, and was released four days later. Vazquez signed a minor league contract with the Seattle Mariners on April 16, 2010. He was later released on June 16, 2010. He signed on to play with the Houston Astros AAA affiliate Round Rock Express on June 24, 2010.
After signing a minor league contract with the St. Louis Cardinals for 2011, he was released on June 1.[3] He signed a minor league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays on June 19.[4] He was released on July 22.[5] On August 15, he signed a minor league contract with the Florida Marlins.[6]
Managing career
After retiring as an active player, Vázquez was recruited as a minor league instructor by the Houston Astros. During the 2014 season, he served as the hitting coach of the Rookie-class Gulf Coast League Astros.[7] The following season, Vázquez served as an infield development specialist for the Lancaster JetHawks of the A-Advanced Class California League.[8]
On November 19, 2015, Vázquez was named interim manager of the Cangrejeros de Santurce of the Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente, replacing Pedro López in the office.[9] Despite being the defending champions, the team had stalled and was last in the standings with a record of 4-10 when he took charge of it.[10] Under Vázquez, the Cangrejeros made a comeback and were able to classify to the postseason in second place, guaranteeing him the office for the rest of the season.[11][12][13] There, the team was paired against the Criollos de Caguas in the semifinals, winning a series of close games to advance.[14] In the finals, Vázquez managed the team to its second consecutive championship, defeating the Indios de Mayagüez despite falling behind early in the series. Ultimately, Santurce managed to clinch the series by picking up the first visitor win of the series, allowing them to play a decisive outing in their home field, the Hiram Bithorn Stadium.[15]
2016 brings Vazquez back to the Lancaster Jethawks as their manager for their 20th anniversary season.
Personal
He is married to his wife Griselda. They have two children, son Nomar and daughter Sofia. Since being named manager of the Lancaster Jethawks, Ramon and his wife have decided to relocate their family to the City of Lancaster, and recently purchased a house in the community. I'm a recent interview, he started that Lancaster is "going to be home for us for a long time."[16]
References
16. Schwartz, Jason, Familiar Face Leads Jethawks, Jethawks Game Day 2016 Season Issue #1
- ↑ "Rangers break record.". MLB.com. 2007-08-22.
- ↑ "Pirates sign infielder Ramon Vazquez". MLB.com. 2008-12-12.
- ↑ Goold, Derrick. "Shuffling Cards: Vazquez released, minor movements abound". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
- ↑ Links, Zach. "Minor Deals: Castillo, Vazquez". MLBTradeRumors.com. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
- ↑ Axisa, Mike. "Minor Moves: Vazquez, Diamond". MLBTradeRumors.com. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
- ↑ Dierkes, Tim. "Marlins Notes: Ramon Vazquez, Morrison, Fernandez". MLBTradeRumors.com. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
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External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
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