Omar Vizquel
Omar Enrique Vizquel González (born April 24, 1967), better known as Omar Vizquel (viz-KELL), is a Major League Baseball shortstop and switch-hitter who plays for the Cleveland Indians. He was born in Caracas, Venezuela.
Vizquel represents another link in the chain of gifted shortstops from Venezuela, a chain that includes Chico Carrasquel, Luis Aparicio, Dave Concepción and Ozzie Guillén. He has very soft hands and recovers quickly from miscues. With a good range to both sides, he can throw off-balance with a quick release. Vizquel turns the double play fearlessly, and no one handles popups in short left field or down the line with such ease. His barehanded plays on slow bounding balls constantly frustrate opposing batters. In 2002, he made only seven errors in 150 games, but the Gold Glove award went to Alex Rodriguez to end Vizquel's nine-year run as the reigning shortstop in the American League.
Vizquel was signed by the Seattle Mariners as a non-drafted free agent in 1984 and made his debut on April 3, 1989. His glovework was evident when he broke in the American League, but it took him some years to master the art of hitting. At the beginning Vizquel was strictly a singles hitter. In his first three seasons with Seattle, he batted .220, .247 and .230 with only 39 extrabases. After hitting .294 in 1992, he was headed for a repeat performance in 1993. Vizquel was hitting .292 at the All-Star break, but he batted only .202 the rest of the way finishing with .252. The problem was mere fatigue. A small man at 5'9 and 163 pounds, Vizquel had never 550 at-bats in a full season. But he nonetheless contributed on offense, bunting to advance runners and drawing some walks. At the end of the season he was traded to Cleveland for two players and cash.
A strict workout routine and adjustments in the batting cage made Vizquel a more complete and stronger hitter with the Indians. In 1996 he batted .297, with nine home runs, 64 runs batted in, 98 runs, 36 doubles, and a .362 on base percentage. In the years to come, he hit .280 .288, a career-high .333 in 1999, and .287 the next year. In the same period he steal 179 bases. On the field, Vizquel teamed with second baseman Roberto Alomar one of the most decorated keystone combination of all time.
After hit 14 homers and 72 RBI career-highs in 2002,Vizquel underwent a surgery on his right knee to repair a cartilage. He played only 64 games in 2003 when a second surgery was necessary.
In 1990 games Vizquel batted .273, with 59 home runs, 656 RBI, 1047 runs, 1982 hits, 320 doubles, 51 triples and 299 stolen bases.
Facts of life
- Omar Vizquel also leads an interesting life off the field.
- He is a high-skilled painter and sculptor.
- He is an inspired rock guitarrist, and a competent salsa music percussionist.
- He designed his own house and has his own lines of designer clothing and nutritional food.
- He is a social activist in his community by donating his works to diverse arts education programs.
- On December 16, 1999, when a massive flooding and landslides killed 50,000 Venezuelans and 400,000 were left homeless, he toured the flood zone and organized a high-profile fundraising effort to assist his countrymen.
Highlights
- 3-time All-Star (1998-99, 2002)
- 9-consecutive Gold Glove (1993-2001)
- Tied American League record for most consecutive games without an error (95, between September 26, 1999 and July 21, 2001)
- Career .983 fielding percentage is the highest for a shortstop with over 1,000 games
- Only Cleveland member who played in the 1995 and 1997 World Series
- The Vizquel-Alomar duo won three Gold Gloves, joining a select list of eight shortstop-second baseman duos have won the honor in the same season while playing together (1999-2001)
Fact
- On August 31, 2004, Vizquel went 6-for-7 to tie the American League record for most hits in a nine-inning game as the Indians rolled to a 22-0 rout of the Yankees, who endured the worst shutout loss in league history.
See also
