Omar Vizquel : Going to Cooperstown?

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Omar Vizquel : Going to Cooperstown?

 

 

 Omar Vizquel : HOF Bound?

 

 

 

Today we have a special commentary today, from the father of Kman, MR. Kman himself. Is Omar hall of fame worthy?

 

 

When you think of future major league shortstops making the trip to Cooperstown, New York, the players names that immediately come to mind are Alex as in Rodriguez, and Derek Jeter. Both are physical specimens who we have little problem visualizing performing heroic feats on the baseball diamond. But there is another bona-fide candidate for inclusion with the enshrined elite of the past, and his name is Omar,  Omar Vizquel. This physically unassuming shortstop is currently superbly fielding the position for the San Francisco Giants. Granted he is at the tale end of his career, but is a major contributor to his team’s success offensively and defensively.
We acknowledge Omar as the only player in major league history who can field a hard hit ground ball with his bare hand and make the seemingly effortless toss to make the out, but that alone doesn’t put you in the Hall of Fame.
He is also among the few players in history to be able to steal third base almost at will, it just can’t be that easy but Omar shows that it is, at least it is for Omar.
 

Watching him play you can see, he is a step or two ahead of the other players with his baseball IQ, he anticipates were the ball is being hit, and almost always arrives to make the play, give up trying to counting his number of Gold Glove Awards.
 

With age, and Omar turns 40 on April 24th, he has become a better hitter, career .276, but last year he finished up hitting .295 with 171 hits. To date 2,472 hits for his career, and considering the level of conditioning he maintains year round he is within target of the illustrious 3,000 hit plateau.
 

Omar has been a solid offensive contributor throughout his carrier and I won’t bore you with baseballs seemingly endless statistics such as his 1,283 runs scored, etc., etc.’s, other than to say Omar who is no stranger to post season and World Series Heroics can hit, run, and field, there is no weakness in his game.
 

Another factor that will garner Omar serious consideration when his eligibility comes about is that you get VOTED into the Hall of Fame, thus popularity is a big factor.
 

We saw that this year with Mark McGuire, and it will be a factor for Rafy Palmero, and Barry Bonds when their names go on the ballot.
 

 

 

So don’t be surprised if when strolling through those haloed Halls in Cooperstown, in say ten years time and you see Omar Vizquel’s plaque on the wall, and no he was not a tentmaker, and that little red man, Chief Wahoo, with the feather on his cap, signifies where he first gained our notice in beautiful downtown Cleveland.. Well let’s just leave it a Cleveland.
 

 

Matthias Koster
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6 replies on “Omar Vizquel : Going to Cooperstown?”
  1. says: Kman

    I like your section on the baseball IQ. That’s one thing that the regular stat and even the sabermetrics hounds can’t calculate.

    Ozzie Smith ended up with 2420 career hits, so Omar is already ahead of him. Hopefully Omar can stick around and get another 300 – 400 hits and solidify his spot in cooperstown.

  2. says: Callum

    Kman did you just comment on your own article? Are you losing it?

    Hitting-wise, Vizquel has showed absolutely no signs of decline over the last seven years, which obviously is pretty weird. He’s going to clear 2600 hits with ease, and if he gets to 2800 he’s going to draw a great deal of Hall support. In my book, though? Not quite, because I don’t think his defensive value quite matches his reputation (i.e. Gold Gloves).

  3. says: Kman

    Maybe I should change the Top. Not me, but MR. Kman. I’ll fix it.

     

    By reputation, do you mean range factor? Even with it being lower, I can’t think of watching a better SS day in day out in terms of D during the mid 90’s. One thing that RF ignores is fielding percentage. And Omar was legendary for some of his errorless streaks during his Indian’s days.

     

    During his declining years, Omar finally lost his streak of AL GG in 2002, but he was comparable to A-rod (winner)

     

    Omar: RF: 4.47, .990 FP, 7 errors in 150 games

    A-Rod: RF: 4.51, 987 FP, 10 errors in 162 games

     

  5. says: Early

    AHHHH I see, I was puzzled as to the author of this article. This is a solid article. Vizquel has quitely put together a solid resume. If I had a vote, which I don’t, I probably would not be able to put him in ahead of sluggers but a precedent has been set with Ozzie Smith, Nellie Fox, Luis Aparicio and Bill Mazeroski where fielding ALONE can get you into the Hall. You state that fielding a ball with a bare hand is not HOF material and the 19yr career with 2400+ hits is decent, but not outstanding. I cannot make a prediction on whether or not he will get HOF consideration that he deserves. The trick that he has to do, like Bonds, is get the Writers who gave him all those GG (Bonds MVPs) to vote for him to get into the HOF.

  6. says: Gino Reyes

    Omar vizquel is deserving of being in the Hall Of Fame. I watch Omar develope into the great player he has become. Also there’s no better human being in baseball. He represents Roberto Clemente’s spirit , talent and humanity like no other.
    Omar in the Hall of Fame together with Aparicio, Marichal, Clemente , Cepeda, Carew !

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