Rafi Vazquez discussed his role with the team and what joining FEPCUBE means to him in an interview with Cuban Baseball Digest.
Vazquez played high school baseball at Bishop O’Connell in Arlington, Virginia, as a two-way player. He continued his career playing collegiate baseball at Coastal Carolina, Florence Darlington Tech (JUCO), and UNC Charlotte.
During his college years, he earned the Conference Player of The Year award with Florence Darlington Tech. In three seasons at UNC Charlotte, Vazquez finished with a .275 batting average, 14 home runs, and 60 RBIs in 83 games. Despite initially leaving the game during his senior season and working as an Uber Eats driver, he decided to make a comeback, inspired by his father’s encouragement.
Upon returning to baseball, he made a position transition from a position player to a pitcher. Since then, he has played for the Westside Wolly Mammoths in the United Shore League, Tri City Valley Cats in the Frontier League, and Ogden Raptors in the Pioneer League. In 2023, with the Valley Cats, Vazquez pitched a complete game shutout against the Washington Wild Things on May 21st, allowing only 3 hits, and a walk while striking out 8.
Vazquez is ready to help the team and show what he can do on the field.
Raf, what’s your role with this team?
My role is to be a good team guy, come in, and get outs when I can. Enjoy this experience.
Will you be a starter or reliever?
They have me coming off the pen, a set-up guy, around the 6th to 8th inning.
Tell us about your conversion from a position player to taking the mound. What made you become a pitcher?
I was a position player in college at D1 UNC Charlotte. I played first base, and in 2020, my senior year, COVID threw a curveball in my career. I pitched in high school, a little bit my freshman year. I thought I had a good arm and feel for things, so I decided to try it out. It’s a quicker way to the big leagues; people sign pitchers faster.
Since you took up pitching, have Euclides Rojas and Edilberto Oropesa given you any pointers?
100%, today we worked a lot. The first couple of times they see you, they have to see what they are working with. They won’t give you a lot of instruction. Today, they were more hands-on with me. They gave me a lot of good instruction, and I think it’s going to help.
You played in the Frontier League last year; compare the talent you’ve seen here.
I would say it’s very similar. All these guys are either ex-affiliate or affiliated, and that’s the same thing with the Frontier League. I had three Big Leaguers on my team, a closer, a center fielder, and a shortstop, and multiple guys at Triple-A. They got released for one thing or another. I would say it’s pretty similar. These guys are younger, which is cooler.
Being from the Exile community, from Cuban descent, what does this mean to you? What does this mission to have our own professional federation mean?
It’s a beautiful thing. My dad came over here when he was 25 years old, escaped on a raft with 9 other people – the classic story. The pain and suffering sit with my family, and it’s passed down. If you don’t understand that, especially as a Cuban American, then you’re missing the whole point. This is a beautiful thing they have going on here, where we can all come together in a free country, express our feelings, and play the game we all love. It’s a beautiful thing.