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Jorge Alberto Vázquez (born March 15, 1982 in Culiacán, Sinaloa Mexico), nicknamed El Chato, is a professional baseball player for the Tigres de Quintana Roo of the Mexican League.
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Vázquez played in the Mexican League from 1999 through 2008, and played in the minor league system of the New York Yankees from 2009 through 2011. He returned to the Mexican League in 2012. He also played for the Mexican national baseball team at the 2009 World Baseball Classic.
Mexican League
Vázquez debuted in the Mexican League in 1999 at age 17, going 0 for 4 with two strikeouts for the Tigres de Quintana Roo. 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 2002, 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 in 289 AB, with 21 home runs and 61 runs batted in. He was 6th in the Mexican League in homers. In 2005, when he hit .379/.413/.796. He led the league in slugging, finished second in average and home runs. He was named to the League All-Star team as the best first baseman in the league.
In 2006, Vázquez batted .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. He was second in homers.
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 hit .339/.398/.612 for the 2008 Tigres with 59 RBI and 18 homers in 56 games.
New York Yankees
Vázquez signed with the New York Yankees on December 7, 2008, after he was noticed by the Yankees' director of quantitative analysis. He was assigned to the Double-A Trenton Thunder.
Vázquez was invited to spring training by the Yankees in 2010. After missing the beginning of the 2010 season due to an appendectomy, he was assigned to the Thunder.
Vázquez was again invited to spring training by the Yankees in 2011, getting noticed for his power. However, his path in the Yankees organization is blocked by corner infielders with better defensive ability.
Vázquez was named the International League Batter of the Week for weeks ending April 17 and July 31, 2011.
International play
In the 2006 Americas qualifier for the 2008 Olympics, he hit .323/.353/.742 for Mexico with 4 HR and 7 RBI in 9 games; he was their main DH. 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.
He was on Mexico's roster for the 2007 Pan American Games but did not play as his team won a Bronze Medal. He participated in the 2009 World Baseball Classic as 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 Adrian Gonzalez). He hit a grand slam to put Mexico ahead 5-3 in a 17-7 win over Australia off Craig Anderson.
Vázquez was named Most Valuable Player in the 2011 Caribbean Series.