Javier Carlos Vázquez (born July 25, 1976) is a Puerto Rican former Major League Baseball starting pitcher. He played for the Montreal Expos (1998–2003), New York Yankees (2004, 2010), Arizona Diamondbacks (2005), Chicago White Sox (2006–2008), Atlanta Braves (2009), and Florida Marlins (2011).
Vázquez was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico. Vázquez is married to Kamille Vázquez. They have three children: Kamila, Javier Josué, and Kariana. Vázquez claims that he dislikes being the center of attention outside of the playing field and describes himself as a 'house man' spending his free time with his children. Vázquez is also interested in art pieces especially the ones that are produced by Puerto Rican artists and he possesses paintings by Wichie Torres and Iván Rosario. Vázquez has also expressed that he has always been interested in charity work, this interest was fueled by his parents as he states that a Christian upbringing and their support when he began practicing sports were part of this influence.
Vázquez was drafted by the Montreal Expos in the fifth round (140th overall) of the 1994 MLB draft. The same year, he began his professional career with the team's Rookie-level club in West Palm Beach, Florida, the GCL Expos. In 15 games (11 starts), Vázquez went 5–2 with a 2.53 ERA. He struck out 56 batters while walking 15 in a team-leading 67+2⁄3 innings pitched. In 1995, he was promoted to the Single-A Albany Polecats, where he finished 6–6 with a 5.08 ERA in 21 starts. In 102+2⁄3 innings pitched, he struck out 87 batters, but also walked 47. In 1996, while with the Single-A Delmarva Shorebirds, Vázquez went 14–3 with a 2.68 ERA in 27 starts. He pitched 164+1⁄3 innings with a team-leading 173 strikeouts and 57 walks. The following year, Vázquez started the season with the High-A West Palm Beach Expos, going 6–3 with a 2.16 ERA in 19 starts while striking out 100 and walking 28 in 112+2⁄3 innings. He was later promoted to the Double-A Harrisburg Senators, where he posted a perfect 4–0 record and a 1.07 ERA in six starts. In 42 innings pitched with Harrisburg, Vázquez struck out 47 batters and walked 12.
Vázquez made his Major League debut for the Expos on April 3, 1998, against the Chicago Cubs, pitching five innings of three-run ball in the 6–2 loss. He picked up his first win on May 1 against the Arizona Diamondbacks, allowing three earned runs in 6+2⁄3 innings while striking out eight. He finished his rookie season appearing in 33 games (32 starts), compiling a 5–15 record and a 6.06 ERA. Vázquez pitched 172+1⁄3 innings, striking out 139 batters while walking 68.
In 1999, as part of a young Expos rotation of "twentysomething", "tall", "power" pitchers Vázquez started the season as the team's number three pitcher, but after recording a 6.63 ERA through June, he was sent to the Triple-A Ottawa Lynx. Upon his recall after the All-Star break, Vázquez turned things around, winning seven of his final 11 decisions and prompting ESPN to write that he had "turn[ed] the corner ... dramatically." On September 14 against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Vázquez tossed his first career shutout. He finished the year with 26 starts, going 9–8 with a 5.00 ERA while pitching 154+2⁄3 innings and recording 131 strikeouts. Vázquez was the losing pitcher when David Cone, of the New York Yankees, pitched a perfect game against the Expos on July 18, 1999.
In 2000, Vázquez again began the season as the Expos' number three starter. He was thought of as a promising young pitcher, and pitched the team's third game on April 5 against the Dodgers, striking out five batters while allowing two earned runs on eight hits across seven innings in a 6–5 Expos win. The Expos would win his following three starts and eight of his first eleven leaving the Expos at 27–23 on June 1. In the wake of injuries to pitchers Matt Blank, Mike Thurman and Hideki Irabu, Vázquez's 2.79 ERA, good for fourth-best in the NL, was noted as a key part to their success. After a sweep of the Baltimore Orioles and a win against the New York Yankees, the Expos were at 31–23, good for second place behind the Atlanta Braves in the NL East, and third in the entire National League. During his June 6 start, under pressure, Vázquez struck out seven batters in six innings, but he also walked four and gave up a home run to Bernie Williams in an 8–1 loss to the Yankees. The Expos would go on to lose seven of their next nine leaving them at 33–31, eighth in the National League. The Expos would finish 67–95, and Vázquez finished his season with an 11–9 record and a 4.05 ERA in 33 starts. He pitched 217+2⁄3 innings, striking out 196 while only walking 61. Vázquez was later invited to play in the 2000 Japanese All-Star Series.
By 2001, Vázquez had become the ace of the Expos pitching staff thought of as a "bright young star and an All-Star for years to come." On April 2, he opened the season in Chicago, pitching 5+2⁄3 innings while striking out five, but he also allowed four earned runs and walked three against the Cubs. The Expos won a close game, 5–4. He pitched better in his next start, the home opener at Olympic Stadium, striking out nine without issuing any walks across seven shutout innings in a 10–0 rout of the New York Mets. Vázquez would finish the season with 16–11 with a 3.42 ERA in 32 starts. In 223+2⁄3 innings pitched, he recorded 208 strikeouts while only walking 44 batters.
In 2002, Vázquez pitched 230+1⁄3 innings, striking out 179 batters while walking 49. He posted a 10–13 record with a 3.91 ERA in 34 starts. Despite this, he lost his arbitration case following the season and was awarded $6 million rather than his requested $7.15 million.
In 2003, Vázquez set career-highs with 230+2⁄3 innings pitched and 241 strikeouts. In 32 starts, he was 13–12 with a 3.24 ERA. Regarded as one of the league's top pitchers, he signaled to then GM Omar Minaya that he might not resign with the Expos, a team then threatened with contraction. Later, when asked by The New York Times about his experience in Montreal that year, he said it was tough "being over there having no owner. If you needed somebody the last couple years when we were in the hunt, especially last year, we couldn't get a player we needed." The article went on to note that for financial reasons the Expos not only couldn't "obtain players from other teams who might have helped the Expos stay in the wild-card race, but the Expos also weren't allowed to call up players from the minor leagues."
On December 4, 2003, the New York Yankees agreed to acquire Vázquez from the Expos in exchange for Nick Johnson, Juan Rivera and Randy Choate. He later agreed to a four-year, $45 million deal through the 2007 season on January 5, 2004. Entering the season, The Hardball Times predicted him as their "consensus pick for the Cy Young".
After starting the season 9–5 with a 3.50 ERA, Vázquez was named a 2004 All-Star, replacing Oakland Athletics pitcher Tim Hudson. However, he struggled in the second half, and finished the season 14–10 with a 4.91 ERA in 32 starts. His struggles continued in the postseason, including a disappointing performance in Game 7 of the 2004 American League Championship Series, where Vázquez pitched two innings of relief, allowing three runs on two hits (both home runs to Johnny Damon) while walking five batters in a 10–3 loss.
On January 11, 2005, the Yankees traded Vázquez, Brad Halsey, and Dioner Navarro to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for Randy Johnson. Johnson, then a 10-time All-Star, had won the National League Cy Young Award each year from 1999 to 2002 and had finished in second place in Cy Young voting that year (striking out a league high 290 batters with only 44 walks in 245 innings.)
As Arizona's Opening Day starter, Vázquez surrendered seven earned runs while striking out two without walking anyone in 1+2⁄3 innings, earning the loss in a 16–6 defeat to the Cubs. In 33 starts overall, he posted an 11–15 record and a 4.42 ERA while striking out 192 batters and walking 46 in 215+2⁄3 innings. In the month of May, he pitched 46 innings without walking a single batter. The stretch was broken at 54 innings in the fifth inning of a June 9 start against the Minnesota Twins.