Willie Vasquez

From BR Bullpen

Williams Martin A. Vasquez Colmenarez

Bats Both, Throws Right
Height 6' 0", Weight 152 lb.

Born July 26, 1983 in Acarigua, Portuguesa Venezuela

Willie Vasquez played in the minors and in Italy as well as for the Venezuelan national team.

Vasquez debuted in 2000 with La Pradera in the Venezuelan Summer League, hitting .250. In 2001, he hit .221/.321/.286 for the GCL Yankees, splitting second base duties with Robinson Cano. In 2002, the teenager spent time with the GCL Yanks (0 for 10, 6 BB), Staten Island Yankees (.234/.299/.343 in 50 games) and the Tampa Yankees (0 for 8, 1 BB). He was used as a utility infielder.

In 2003, Vasquez played for Tampa (.233/.318/.288 in 21 games) and the Battle Creek Yankees (.223/.313/.367 in 66 games). The next year, he batted .243/.332/.376 for Battle Creek to show some strides at the plate; he played all four infield positions as well as the outfield, appearing in 108 games, 4th on the club.

Vasquez came to Italy as a pitcher and went 3-4 with a 4.65 ERA in 2005. In the 2006 COPABE qualifiers for the Olympics, he hit .257/.381/.543 for Venezuela, with 3 homers in 9 games. He also had 3 outfield assists. He hit .269 in the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games and tied for the event lead with 3 doubles.

In 2007, he played for Avigliana and hit .338/.445/.531 as the club's clear top star. He was 4th in Serie A1 in batting average, tied Shaun Skrehot for second in homers (7, one behind Juan Camilo), 4th in OBP and 4th in slugging. He hit .261/.414/.261 in the 2007 Baseball World Cup.

In 2008, Willie hit .380/.480/.540 for T&A San Marino with 30 runs and 30 RBI. He was second in average to Giuseppe Mazzanti and tied Rayner Bautista for the most hits (62). He was third in OBP behind Mazzanti and Claudio Liverziani and tied for 4th with 32 walks. He helped lead San Marino to its first Serie A1 title.

During the 2008 European Cup in Grosseto, Willie hit .474/.522/.842 with 5 runs and 3 triples in 5 games. He led the Cup in triples, was second to Richard Montiel in average, tied Daniel Sanchez and Bryon Bell for third in hits (9) and was third with 16 total bases. He broke up a no-hitter by Pat Ahearne in the 7thi nning one game.

In the 2008 Americas Baseball Cup, Vasquez was the top contact hitter for the host Venezuelans, hitting .414/.469/.483 and making the tourney All-Star outfield alongside Ardley Jansen and Danilo Sotelo. Vasquez played a key role in helping Venezuela win a spot in the 2009 Baseball World Cup. He went 3 for 5 in a key win over the Puerto Rican national team, which otherwise was unbeaten in the tourney.

Vasquez was 7 for 12 with two doubles, a homer, 3 runs and 6 RBI in the Matino phase of the 2009 European Cup but San Marino failed to advance to the Final Four. He tied teammate Max De Biase for the lead in both average and RBI and led in total bases.