I originally published this story a few months back, and since that time, Omar Vizquel has announced that he will be retiring at the end of this season. During that time, both Jeter & Rodriguez have moved up a few notches on the all-time hits list, but Omar’s name still is not highlighted. It’s somewhat hidden down there near the bottom of top 50 of all time.
With the baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremonies this weekend, I just wanted to take this opportunity so say once again what a travesty it would be if Omar Vizquel were not elected to the Hall of Fame when his time comes. In five years. On the first ballot.
As Peter Griffin of “Family Guy” has been known to say, I saw something this morning that really “grinds my gears.”
There was a list in a local publication that had the top 50 hits leaders of all time in major league baseball. Out of those 50, players still active were listed in bold print. Sitting at 19 was Derek Jeter, and sitting at 47 was Alex Rodriguez. That was it for current players.
Taking a closer look, in 45th place, in non-bold print mind you, was Omar Vizquel. Omar is still a utility infielder for the Toronto Blue Jays.
This “omission,” somewhat describes Vizquel’s career, always flying “under the radar.”
If you have followed Omar when he burst onto the scene as shortstop of those Cleveland Indian great teams of the mid to late nineties, you realize that simply put, no one compares to Vizquel when it comes to playing the position.
Besides being the best fielding shortstop in the history of the game, Omar has amassed almost 3000 base hits.
It will be a travesty if Vizquel does not end up in Cooperstown when his playing days are over. I certainly hope that not doing back flips on the diamond keeps him out of “the hall.”
I agree 100% with you. Omar deserves to be in the hall.