Hector Villanueva
From BR Bullpen
Hector Villanueva Balasquide
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 1", Weight 220 lb.
- School University of Alabama at Birmingham
- Debut June 1, 1990
- Final Game June 13, 1993
- Born October 2, 1964 in Rio Piedras, P.R.
[edit] Biographical Information
- A short, fat Hispanic catcher who could hit pretty well. One day he hit a stand up triple in Wrigley Field. It could have been an inside the park home run, but he stood at the plate admiring what he thought was a dinger and thus didn't start running right away.
- In the 1984 Amateur World Series, Villanueva backed up Jose Lorenzana for Puerto Rico and hit just .154/.154/.231 in 5 games.
- Following his brief major league career, Villanueva had a much longer career as the popular catcher for the Independent Atlantic League's Atlantic City Surf.
- Villanueva dazzled in Latin American leagues. In 1991-92, he won the Triple Crown in the Puerto Rican Winter League for San Juan. In 1993 he was MVP of the Caribbean Series. In 1994, he led the Mexican League in slugging (.599) and RBI (108), tied for the homer lead (30) and was 2nd in OBP (.457) and walks (108).
