Omar Vizquel
The best defensive shortstop in baseball in the 1990s and early 2000s, Omar Vizquel was a valuable member of six Cleveland Indians division-winning teams. Venezuelan-born Vizquel won nine consecutive Gold Glove Awards for his prowess with the leather. He was especially adept at fielding balls barehanded, throwing on the run and handling pop flies well into the outfield and in foul territory behind third base. Like Ozzie Smith, Vizquel made himself into a pesky hitter and stoled bases at a decent clip. He swiped home as many times as any player of his generation and was also one of the best bunters in baseball.
Quotes From Vizquel
"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." — Omar on teammate Jose Mesa's performance in Game Seven of the 1997 World Series against Florida.
"I didn't say he was a choker the whole season. I always said we never would have gotten to the World Series without Jose Mesa." — Vizquel on Mesa again.
Played For
Seattle Mariners (1989-1993)
Cleveland Indians (1994-2004)
San Francisco Giants (2005)
All-Time Rankings
Omar Vizquel ranks #23 among the Top 50 all-time at SS. Rankings ⇒
Best Season: 1999
He won his seventh Gold Glove Award and helped the Tribe to their fifth straight AL Central title. Vizquel had his best offensive campaign, batting .333 with 191 hits, 112 runs scored, 36 doubles, 66 RBI, 42 stolen bases, and more walks than strikeouts. He was 16th in AL MVP voting.
Factoids
In 2005, Omar Vizquel was the 3,000th strikeout victim of Greg Maddux.
On August 31, 2004, when the Indians drubbed the Yankees 22-0 in the most lopsided shutout in American League history, Omar Vizquel tied a league record as he collected six hits in a nine-inning game.
Where He Played
Shortstop exclusively, except for one game at second while he was with the Mariners, and a token game in right field for the Indians.
Born
Omar Enrique (Gonzalez) Vizquel was born on April 24, 1967, in Caracas
Batted: Both
Threw: Right
Primary Position: SS
Primary Team: CLE
Major League Debut
April 3, 1989
Nine Other Players Who Debuted in 1989
Steve Finley
Todd Zeile
John Olerud
Sammy Sosa
Omar Vizquel
Ken Griffey Jr.
Juan Gonzalez
Albert Belle
Jim Abbott
Related Players
The M's thought Felix Fermin would be a better shortstop, so they traded Omar to the Indians to get Felix. Fermin hit pretty well for Seattle in 1994, suffered an injury, and was out of baseball by 1996... When his autobiography, Omar! My Life On and Off the Field was released in 2003, Vizquel criticized former teammate Jose Mesa. His criticism resulted in an open feud between the two in the media... Fellow Venezuela-natives and ML shortstops Luis Aparicio, Davey Concepcion, and Ozzie Guillen.
Post-Season Appearances
1995 American League Championship Series
1995 World Series
1995 American League Divisional Series
1996 American League Divisional Series
1997 American League Divisional Series
1997 American League Championship Series
1997 World Series
1998 American League Championship Series
1998 American League Divisional Series
1999 American League Divisional Series
2001 American League Divisional Series
Post-Season Notes
Oddly, Vizquel performed well in the Divisional Series, batting over .300 in more than 100 at-bats in six series. But he batted just .198 in the ALCS and World Series.
Awards and Honors
1993 AL Gold Glove
1994 AL Gold Glove
1995 AL Gold Glove
1996 AL Gold Glove
1997 AL Gold Glove
1998 AL Gold Glove
1999 AL Gold Glove
2000 AL Gold Glove
2001 AL Gold Glove
Batting Feats
- August 31, 2004: 6 Hits...
Notes
Vizquel enjoys sculpting and painting in his spare time, and he's also been known to play the guitar and drums. He enjoys salsa music.
Injuries and Explanation for Missed Playing Time
After the 2002 season, Omar had surgery on his right knee. He missed much of 2003 when a second surgery on the knee became necessary.
Transactions
April 1, 1984: Signed by the Seattle Mariners as an amateur free agent; December 20, 1993: Traded by the Seattle Mariners to the Cleveland Indians for Felix Fermin, Reggie Jefferson, and cash; October 29, 2004: Granted Free Agency; November 16, 2004: Signed as a Free Agent with the San Francisco Giants.
All-Star Selections
1998 AL
1999 AL
2002 AL
Replaced
Rey Quinones
Replaced By
To be determined yet, but the Indians replaced him with Jhonny Peralta.
Best Strength as a Player
Defense. Vizquel's .984 career fielding percentage (through 2005) is the highest of all-time for a shortstop.
Largest Weakness as a Player
Batting right-handed. Vizquel is just a .235 hitter from the right-side and his slugging percentage is below .300 against lefties. A small man, he's also been prone to wearing out. Throughout his career, he has struggled offensively in the months of August and September, for example.
Learn More about Omar Vizquel
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View a map of his hometown at Mapquest ⇒
