Christian Iván Villanueva Limón (born June 19, 1991), nicknamed "Villa", is a Mexican

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

for the

Sultanes de Monterrey The Sultanes de Monterrey ( en, Monterrey Sultans) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Monterrey, Mexico. They compete in the Northern Division. The team also joined the Mexican Pacific League for the 2019–20 season f ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

. He previously played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

and in

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB) for the

Yomiuri Giants The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They ...

and

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaidō. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball, playing the majority of their home games at ES CON Field Hokkaido. The Fighters also host a ...

. Villanueva won the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

's Rookie of the Month Award for April 2018.

Career

Minor leagues

Villanueva signed with the Texas Rangers as an international free agent on August 17, 2008. He missed the part of the 2009 season after having knee surgery. The Rangers traded Villanueva and

Kyle Hendricks Kyle Christian Hendricks (born December 7, 1989), nicknamed "The Professor", is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2014, and led MLB in earned run average for ...

to the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

in 2012 in exchange for

Ryan Dempster Ryan Scott Dempster (born May 3, 1977), is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida Marlins, Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers, and Boston Red Sox. Dempster batted and t ...

. By 2014, Villanueva was blocked in the Cubs' organization by fellow

Kris Bryant Kristopher Lee Bryant (born January 4, 1992), nicknamed "KB", is an American professional baseball third baseman and outfielder for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Chicago Cubs and San ...

. Villanueva broke his right

fibula The fibula or calf bone is a leg bone on the lateral side of the tibia, to which it is connected above and below. It is the smaller of the two bones and, in proportion to its length, the most slender of all the long bones. Its upper extremity is ...

during

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

in 2016 and missed the entire season. He was non-tendered on December 2.

San Diego Padres

On December 12, 2016, Villanueva signed a minor league contract with the

. Villanueva began the 2017 season with the

El Paso Chihuahuas The El Paso Chihuahuas are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. They are located in El Paso, Texas, and play their home games at Southwest University ...

of the

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL ...

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

. He batted .296 with 20 home runs. On September 18, 2017, the Padres promoted Villanueva to the major leagues. He made his major league debut that day, starting at third base. He batted .344 in 32 at bats for the Padres. Christian Villanueva with the Padres in 2018

Christian Villanueva with the Padres in 2018

On April 3, 2018, Villanueva hit three home runs in a game against the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

Petco Park Petco Park is a baseball stadium in Downtown San Diego, California. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's San Diego Padres, and has also been used as a venue for concerts, soccer, golf, and rugby. The ballpark is located between Se ...

. He was named the National League Rookie of the Month for the month of April 2018. In April he led all rookies in hits, runs scored, home runs, RBI, batting average,

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

slugging Slugging, also known as casual carpooling, is the practice of forming ad hoc, informal carpools for purposes of commuting, essentially a variation of ride-share commuting and hitchhiking. A driver picks up these non-paying passengers (known as ...

and total bases. In May 2018 he tied the MLB record for most home runs for a rookie born in Mexico. On August 22, Villanueva fractured his finger while fielding 2nd base and missed the remainder of the season. On November 6, 2018, Villanueva signed with the

Yaquis de Obregon The Yaqui, Hiaki, or Yoeme, are a Native American people of the southwest, who speak a Uto-Aztecan language. Their homelands include the Río Yaqui valley in Sonora, Mexico, and the area below the Gila River in Arizona, Southwestern United St ...

of the

Mexican Pacific League The Mexican Pacific League (), known as Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacífico for sponsorship reasons or simply LMP for its acronym in Spanish, is a professional baseball winter league based in Northern Mexico. The ten-team regular season schedule run ...

for the 2018 winter season.

Yomiuri Giants

On November 20, 2018, the Padres designated Villanueva for assignment and sold his contract to the

Central League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consist ...

. The next day, he officially signed to a one-year, $3.6;million contract with the Giants. On December 2, 2019, he become free agent.

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters

On December 5, 2019, Villanueva signed with the

. On December 2, 2020, he became a free agent.

Sultanes de Monterrey

On April 6, 2021, Villanueva signed with the

of the

Personal life

Villanueva and his wife had a son, Christian Jr., in 2017.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Villanueva, Christian 1991 births Living people Arizona League Rangers players Daytona Cubs players Dominican Summer League Rangers players Mexican expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic El Paso Chihuahuas players Hickory Crawdads players Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters players Iowa Cubs players Major League Baseball players from Mexico Major League Baseball third basemen Mexican expatriate baseball players in Japan Mexican expatriate baseball players in the United States Myrtle Beach Pelicans players National baseball team players Nippon Professional Baseball third basemen San Diego Padres players Sportspeople from Guadalajara, Jalisco Sultanes de Monterrey players Tennessee Smokies players Yaquis de Obregón players Yomiuri Giants players 2019 WBSC Premier12 players