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Omar Vizquel

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Omar Vizquel
San Francisco Giants – No. 13
Shortstop
Bats: Switch
Throws: Right
debut
April 3, 1989, for the Seattle Mariners
Career statistics
(through June 29, 2008)
Batting Average.273
Hits2,617
Stolen Bases382
Fielding Percentage.984
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Omar Enrique Vizquel (born April 24, 1967 in Caracas, Venezuela) is a Major League Baseball shortstop playing for the San Francisco Giants. Previously, Vizquel played for the Seattle Mariners (1989-93) and the Cleveland Indians (1994-2004). Vizquel is considered one of baseball's all-time best defensive shortstops, winning nine consecutive Gold Gloves (1993-2001) and two in 2005 and 2006. He also tied Cal Ripken's AL record, since surpassed, for most consecutive games at shortstop without an error (95 between September 26, 1999 and July 21, 2001). As of 2007, his .984 career fielding percentage is the highest of all-time for a shortstop in Major League history. On May 25, 2008, Vizquel became the all-time leader in games played at that position, passing Luis Aparicio. He remains second all-time (behind Aparicio) in hits recorded while playing shortstop.

Career

Originally signed by the Mariners as a non-drafted free agent in 1984, Vizquel made his Major League debut on April 3, 1989. His exceptional defensive ability became evident early on in his professional career, but it took Vizquel several years to master the art of hitting. Strictly a singles hitter from the beginning, Vizquel batted .220, .247, and .230 with only 39 extra base hits in his first three seasons with Seattle. After hitting .294 in 1992, Vizquel was slated for a repeat performance the following year but despite having reached a batting average of .292 by the All-Star break in 1993, he batted only .202 for the rest of the season to finish at .252.

Vizquel in the on deck circle with the Giants in 2006.

Although Vizquel had never before appeared for 550 at-bats in a full season, he nonetheless contributed significantly to the Mariners' offense, mainly bunting to advance runners and drawing walks. However, by year's end, Vizquel was traded by the Mariners to the Indians for Félix Fermín, Reggie Jefferson, and cash (Fermin hit well for Seattle in 1994 but suffered an injury and retired in 1996).

After joining the Indians, Vizquel became a stronger, more competent hitter. In 1996, he batted .297 with nine home runs, 64 runs batted in, 98 runs, 36 doubles, and a .362 on base percentage. He continued to hit consistently well over the years with the team, reaching a career-high batting average of .333 in 1999 with 191 hits, thus helping the Indians to their fifth-straight AL Central Division title. That same year, Vizquel scored 112 runs, hit 36 doubles with 66 RBIs, and stole 42 bases while drawing more walks than strikeouts in his best offensive campaign to date. On the field, Vizquel and second baseman Roberto Alomar were recognized as one of the top defensive duos of all-time with both men joining a select list of eight shortstop-second baseman combinations to hold the honor of winning three consecutive Gold Gloves over the course of their three seasons together (1999-2001). During Vizquel's career in Cleveland, twice the Indians made it to the World Series but came up short in both, losing to the Atlanta Braves in 1995 and to the Florida Marlins in 1997.

Vizquel continued to reach career-highs in 2002 hitting 14 homers and 72 RBIs but his success was interrupted by the need for surgery in his right knee. As a result of the injury and a follow-up operation, he appeared in only 64 games in 2003. However, Vizquel returned in 2004 to hit .291 in 148 games. At the end of the season, Vizquel was signed by the Giants as a free agent. As of the end of the 2007 season in an 19-year Major League career, Vizquel has a .274 lifetime batting average with 2598 hits and 380 stolen bases. His exceptional defense, together with an increased offensive output over his career has inspired an ongoing debate among observers as to whether he will be enshrined in the Hall of Fame after he retires. [1] [2] [3] [4]

Vizquel is also known for often fielding balls with his bare hand, causing his teammates to joke that he should be winning Gold Barehands instead of Gold Gloves. This is evident in Vizquel's 1997 Fleer Ultra baseball card, showing him holding a bowling trophy with a mannequin's hand on top.

On June 23, 2007 the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame inducted Omar Vizquel into their Hall of Fame during an on-field, pre-game ceremony before taking on the New York Yankees. He, along with former San Francisco Giants outfielder, Mateo Rojas "Matty" Alou were inducted in front of over 43,000 fans.

He is the only player to have won all three of the Hutch Award, the Willie Mac Award, and the Heart & Hustle Award. Only one other player, Dave Dravecky, has won more than one of these awards, although Willie McCovey himself won the Hutch Award before having the Willie Mac Award named for him.

Omar Vizquel underwent Arthoscopic knee surgery on February 27, 2008. He started the 2008 season on the disabled list and played in his first game on May 10, 2008.


Feud with Jose Mesa

A long-running and well-publicized feud erupted between Vizquel and former teammate and friend José Mesa in 2002, following the publication of Vizquel's autobiography, Omar! My Life On and Off the Field. In the book, Vizquel criticized Mesa's performance in Game 7 of the 1997 World Series: "The eyes of the world were focused on every move we made. Unfortunately, Jose's own eyes were vacant. Completely empty. Nobody home. You could almost see right through him. Not long after I looked into his vacant eyes, he blew the save and the Marlins tied the game." Mesa reacted furiously, pledging to hit Vizquel upon every subsequent opportunity: "Even my little boy told me to get him. If I face him 10 more times, I'll hit him 10 times. I want to kill him." On June 12, 2002, Mesa made good on his promise and hit Vizquel the first time he faced him, in the ninth inning. Oddly, Mesa was not ejected and finished the game, which featured five other ejections, including both managers.[1] They did not face each other again until 2006; by then, Vizquel was with the San Francisco Giants and Mesa was playing for the Colorado Rockies. When Vizquel came to bat against Mesa in Denver on April 22, Mesa hit him again. Meeting three more times in 2006, however, Vizquel escaped being hit by his former teammate, with two groundouts and an RBI single. In his career, Vizquel is batting .333 (7-for-21) against Mesa.[2]

Personal

Vizquel is an avid painter and sculptor, and plays the guitar, drums and sings. He is a fan of salsa music and loves to dance. He has a son Nicholas Enrique (born September 12, 1995) with his wife Nicole. Along with his artistic pursuits, Omar also is a collector of fine art and owns several modern art pieces. Included in his collection is a glass chandelier for his home made by Seattle artist Dale Chihuly worth over $100,000.

Vizquel has a home in Issaquah, Washington.

Omar's wife Nicole and son live in Washington. Wife Nicole is a direct descendant of Chief Seattle. Omar and Nicole met while in their 20s. Omar and Nicole have an adopted daughter Caylee Rae born June 3, 2007.

Omar is known as a "Renaissance Man" as he is very talented in many areas. He also has a love for fashion.

Omar is also active in community service, having served as an honorary spokesperson for "Young Audiences", an arts education organization in Cleveland, and "Schools Now", which raises funds through the sale of entertainment booklets. Following the 1999 Vargas mudslide disaster that killed 25,000 in his native Venezuela, Vizquel not only donated his time to the relief effort but also helped to raise over $500,000 for the cause. Vizquel also has various charitable events in downtown Cleveland such as Tribe Jam, where he and some other teammates get together with each other or with retired singers and sing some of their favorite songs.

His 2002 autobiography, Omar!: My Life on and Off the Field, which he co-wrote with Bob Dyer, spent four weeks on the New York Times Best Seller List. It was also released in paperback in 2003. The accounts in the book about the Mesa scenario continue to fuel angst and misunderstandings between Mesa and Vizquel.

Baseball records and accomplishments

Defense

  • All-time leader for double plays as a shortstop
  • 11-time Gold Glove recipient (1993-2001, 2005-6)
  • Second-highest number of Gold Gloves received by a shortstop (behind Ozzie Smith)
  • Oldest shortstop recipient of the Gold Glove (ages 38 & 39)
  • Highest career fielding percentage by a shortstop (0.984)
  • Lowest number of errors in a season by a shortstop (tie) (3 in the 2000 season)
  • American League record holder (tie) for most consecutive games without an error (95 between September 26, 1999-July 21, 2001)

Offense

  • Second-most hits-while-playing-shortstop all-time (behind Luis Aparicio)
  • Fourth-most runs-while-playing-shortstop all-time (behind Herman Long, Derek Jeter and Bill Dahlen)
  • Seventh-most stolen-bases-while-playing-shortstop all-time (behind Bert Campaneris, Ozzie Smith, Herman Long, Luis Aparicio, Honus Wagner, and Bill Dahlen
  • The 83rd major league player to reach 2500 career hits (May 6, 2007)
  • Most hits by an active (roster) player
  • Most at-bats by an active (roster) player
  • American League record holder (tie) for most hits in a nine inning game (6) - Went 6-7 on August 31, 2004 in the Indians 22-0 win over the Yankees, the worst shut-out loss in league history

Overall

Trivia

  • On May 27, 2003, had a straight steal of home against the Detroit Tigers. This caught Tigers pitcher Steve Avery by so much surprise that Vizquel made it home without a throw, which is extremely rare. Vizquel again stole home against Oakland Athletics pitcher, Greg Smith, on June 13, 2008.
  • Tied the 2002 All-Star Game 7-7 with an RBI triple in the eighth inning. The game ended controversially after 11 innings tied 7-7.
  • On August 5, 2001 hit a 3-run triple in the ninth inning against the Seattle Mariners to tie the game 14-14, erasing an earlier 14-2 deficit midway through the seventh inning. Vizquel and the Indians went on to win 15-14 in 11 innings. It was tied for the largest comeback in history.
  • Omar is referenced in an episode of The Simpsons entitled "Bart's Friend Falls in Love". In the episode, Bart takes a distracted Milhouse's Carl Yastrzemski baseball card in exchange for one of Vizquel with the head cut out.

See also

References

  1. ^ Deseret News | Rocky contest marred by plenty of ejections
  2. ^ Omar Vizquel Batting Against Jose Mesa - Baseball-Reference PI
  1. "Vizquel an artist at work" by Jeff Passan, Yahoo! Sports, May 24, 2006
  2. "Older players make final bids for Hall of Fame" by Mel Antonen, USA TODAY, July 27, 2006
  3. "Last call for the Hall" by Gary Kaufman, Salon.com, July 26, 2000
  4. "ALL SYSTEMS O!" by Bill Livingston, The Plain Dealer, September 26, 2004
  5. Omar Vizquel and Bob Dyer (2002). Omar!: My Life on and Off the Field. Gray & Company Publishers. ISBN 9781886228559
  6. Hits/runs/games-while-playing-shortstop calculated using statistics at BaseballReference.com
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Omar Vizquel.

Template:Seattle Mariners shortstops


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