Omar Vizquel
From BR Bullpen
Omar Enrique Vizquel Gonzalez
(Little O)
- Bats Both, Throws Right
- Height 5' 9", Weight 165 lb.
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[edit] Biographical Information
Shortstop Omar Vizquel was signed as a free agent for the Seattle Mariners by scout Marty Martinez on April 1, 1984.
Vizquel won nine Gold Gloves with the Cleveland Indians. In 2005, he won his first National League Gold Glove while playing for the San Francisco Giants and repeated the feat the following season. He has the best fielding percentage for a shortstop in history, and in 2007, passed Ozzie Smith for most double plays. Vizquel tied and passed fellow Venezuelan Luis Aparicio for career games at the position in the two games of a May 25th, 2008 doubleheader at Florida. In 2009, Vizquel became the third player in MLB history to play shortstop at age 42, following Luke Appling (1949) and Honus Wagner (1916). That season, he also passed Aparicio for most hits by a player born in Venezuela.
Vizquel has over 11,000 major league plate appearances, putting him at # 31 on the all-time list. Most of the players near him on the list are in the Hall of Fame.
Vizquel is a drummer who did a rendition of the Goo Goo Dolls' "Broadway" on a CD of songs performed by baseball players.
When Omar signed with the Chicago White Sox for 2010, he requested #11, which had been retired by the club in honor of Aparicio. Aparicio agreed to have it brought back into use since Vizquel would be the player wearing it. he signed with the Toronto Blue Jays for 2012 and made the team out of spring training as a utility infielder. At 44 (with a birthday less than a month from Opening Day making him officially 45 for the season), he was the oldest position player in the major leagues and one of the 50 oldest players ever. The records show that Vizquel's first career appearance in left field came on April 5th, in his first game for the Blue Jays, for just one batter. This is technically correct; however, Vizquel was positioned as a fifth infielder as part of a defensive shift. On May 6th, he became the oldest player to be used at shortstop, beating out Hall of Famer Bobby Wallace, who had been 44 when he last played there for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1914. It was only his 7th appearance of the season, and he was barely hitting .133 at the time.
[edit] Notable Achievements
- 3-time AL All-Star (1998, 1999 & 2002)
- 11-time Gold Glove Winner (1993-2001/AL, 2005/NL & 2006/NL)
- 100 Runs Scored Seasons: 2 (1999 & 2000)
[edit] Records Held
- Double plays, shortstop, career, 1731
- Fewest errors, shortstop, season, 3, 2000 (tied)
- Games played at shortstop, career, 2699
- Seasons played at shortstop, 23
[edit] Related Sites
Venezuelan League Statistics [1]
