Omar Vizquel facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Omar Vizquel |
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Vizquel with the San Francisco Giants in 2005
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| Shortstop | |||
| Born: April 24, 1967 Caracas, Venezuela |
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| debut | |||
| April 3, 1989, for the Seattle Mariners | |||
| Last appearance | |||
| October 3, 2012, for the Toronto Blue Jays | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .272 | ||
| Hits | 2,877 | ||
| Home runs | 80 | ||
| Runs batted in | 951 | ||
| Teams | |||
As player
As coach
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
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 Baseball Hall of Fame |
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| Induction | 2018 | ||
| Vote | 77% | ||
| Election Method | Contemporary Committee | ||
Omar Enrique Vizquel González (born April 24, 1967), known as "Little O", is a former professional baseball player from Venezuela. He was a shortstop in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 24 years. Vizquel played for many teams, including the Seattle Mariners, Cleveland Indians, San Francisco Giants, Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox, and Toronto Blue Jays. After playing, he became a coach for teams like the Detroit Tigers.
Omar Vizquel is thought to be one of the best defensive shortstops ever. He won 11 Gold Glove Awards, which are given to the best fielders. Nine of these awards were won in a row from 1993 to 2001. He holds the record for the highest fielding percentage (meaning he made very few errors) among shortstops. He also played more games at shortstop than anyone else and helped turn the most double plays. Vizquel had 2,877 hits in his career, which was the most for a Venezuelan player until Miguel Cabrera passed him in 2021. He is also third all-time in hits among shortstops, behind Derek Jeter and Honus Wagner.
When he retired, Vizquel was the oldest position player in MLB. He is one of only 31 players in baseball history to play in four different decades, and the only one to do it as a shortstop.
Contents
Omar Vizquel's Baseball Journey
Starting with the Seattle Mariners
Omar Vizquel began his professional baseball career with the Leones del Caracas team in the Venezuelan Winter League. He learned how to hit from both sides of the plate (switch-hit) from his manager, Bill Plummer. The Seattle Mariners signed Vizquel in 1984.
He made his first Major League Baseball appearance on April 3, 1989. In this game, he played shortstop and helped with five outs, including a double play. A few days later, he got his first career hit, a single, against Storm Davis.
Playing for the Cleveland Indians
In 1993, the Mariners traded Vizquel to the Cleveland Indians. During his time with the Indians, the team reached the World Series twice, in 1995 and 1997, but they did not win either time.
Vizquel won nine Gold Gloves in a row while playing for the Mariners and Indians, from 1993 to 2001. He later won two more Gold Gloves with the San Francisco Giants in 2005 and 2006.
In 1999, Vizquel had a fantastic year at bat. He hit for a .333 batting average and scored 112 runs. He was part of a very strong batting lineup for the Indians, hitting second between Kenny Lofton and Roberto Alomar.
On August 5, 2001, Vizquel was part of an amazing comeback game. His team was losing 14-2 to the Seattle Mariners, but they fought back. Vizquel hit a three-run triple in the ninth inning to tie the game 14-14. The Indians then won the game 15-14 in 11 innings, making it one of the biggest comebacks in baseball history! In 2002, he hit a career-high 14 home runs. He also tied the 2002 All-Star Game with an RBI triple.
Time with the San Francisco Giants
On June 23, 2007, Omar Vizquel was honored by the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame. He was inducted into their Hall of Fame before a game.
Vizquel also won two special awards: the Hutch Award and the Willie Mac Award. These awards recognize players for their spirit, leadership, and positive impact on the game.
On July 26, 2005, Vizquel became a part of baseball history when he was the 3,000th strikeout victim for legendary pitcher Greg Maddux.
Joining the Texas Rangers
In 2009, Vizquel signed with the Texas Rangers. He mainly played as a backup infielder. He played 62 games and showed his excellent fielding skills by not making any errors at shortstop, third base, or second base.
Playing for the Chicago White Sox
In 2009, Vizquel joined the Chicago White Sox. A special moment happened when White Sox legend Luis Aparicio, also a Venezuelan shortstop, allowed Vizquel to wear his retired number 11 jersey for the 2010 season. This was a great honor!
On May 25, 2010, Vizquel became the shortstop with the third most hits of all time, behind Derek Jeter and Honus Wagner. On June 25, he hit a home run, making him one of only a few players to hit home runs in four different decades. Even in his forties, Vizquel was known as one of the best defensive shortstops and was very fit.
Final Season with the Toronto Blue Jays
For the 2012 season, Vizquel signed with the Toronto Blue Jays. He made the team and played on Opening Day against his old team, the Cleveland Indians.
On July 27, 2012, Vizquel had two extra-base hits in a game, a double and a triple. This made him the oldest player in Major League history to hit both a double and a triple in the same game!
In his final game on October 3, 2012, Vizquel wore his favorite number 13 jersey. He got a single in his last time at bat, which was his 2,877th career hit. This moved him past Mel Ott on the all-time hits list. Omar Vizquel retired after this season, ending an amazing career.
Coaching Career
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
After retiring as a player, Vizquel became a co-infield coach for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in 2013.
Detroit Tigers
In 2013, the Detroit Tigers hired Vizquel as their new first-base coach. He also helped coach the infielders and baserunning for the Tigers.
Chicago White Sox
In 2017, Vizquel returned to the White Sox organization to manage one of their minor league teams, the Winston-Salem Dash. In 2018, he was promoted to manage another minor league team, the Birmingham Barons.
Toros de Tijuana
In 2019, Vizquel became the manager for the Toros de Tijuana in the Mexican League. He left the team in 2021.
Life Outside Baseball
Omar Vizquel is very involved in helping his community. He has supported organizations that promote arts education and raise money for schools. After a terrible mudslide disaster in his home country of Venezuela in 1999, Vizquel volunteered and helped raise over $500,000 for relief efforts.
In 2002, he wrote an autobiography called Omar!: My Life on and Off the Field with Bob Dyer. This book was so popular that it was on the New York Times Best Seller List for four weeks!
Amazing Records and Achievements
Fielding Skills
- He is the all-time leader in double plays made while playing shortstop.
- He won 11 Gold Glove Awards.
- He was the oldest shortstop to win a Gold Glove Award (at age 38 in 2005 and 39 in 2006).
- He has the highest career fielding percentage for a shortstop who played at least 1,000 games.
- He holds the record (tied) for the fewest errors by a shortstop in a season (only 3 errors in 2000).
Batting Achievements
- When he retired, he had the most hits by a player from Venezuela.
- He was the 47th player in MLB history to reach 2,800 career hits.
- He is the all-time leader in sacrifice hits in the modern era of baseball.
- He is tied for the American League record for most hits in a nine-inning game, with six hits on August 31, 2004.
- He has the second-most hits ever while playing shortstop, behind Derek Jeter.
- He has the fourth-most runs scored while playing shortstop.
- He has the seventh-most stolen bases while playing shortstop.
- He is 44th all-time in career hits (2,877).
Overall Accomplishments
- He played the most games ever at shortstop.
- He was a three-time All-Star (1998, 1999, 2002).
- He won two American League Championships with Cleveland (1995, 1997).
- He won six American League Central Division Championships with Cleveland.
- He won the Hutch Award (1996), the only non-American player to do so.
- He won the Willie Mac Award (2006) for his great spirit and leadership.
- He was the captain of the Venezuelan World Baseball Classic team in 2006.
- He is a member of the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame.
- He was inducted into the Cleveland Indians Hall of Fame in 2014.
Vizquel has appeared on the ballot for the National Baseball Hall of Fame since 2018. Players need 75% of the votes to be elected.
See also
In Spanish: Omar Vizquel para niños
- Cleveland Indians award winners and league leaders
- List of Gold Glove middle infield duos
- List of Major League Baseball career assists leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career doubles leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career games played leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career hits leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career runs scored leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career singles leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career stolen bases leaders
- List of Major League Baseball players from Venezuela
- List of Major League Baseball players who played in four decades
- List of Major League Baseball single-game hits leaders
- Seattle Mariners award winners and league leaders
