Vizquel is baseball's forgotten iron man

Vizquel is baseball's forgotten iron man
By Jim Caple

Because a player never knows when a career might end, especially once he's turned 40 years old, Omar Vizquel decided over the winter to hold a farewell tour. Only this tour wasn't of the major leagues, but of winter ball in his native Venezuela, where he hoped to play in each stadium and against every team in the league in which he started his career in 1984. Playing there -- the first time he played in the league in a decade or so -- provided Vizquel with frequent reminders of just how long a career he has enjoyed in baseball.

"Things have changed a lot in 24 years," he said. "All those kids who saw me play when I was there [starting out], they're all married and have kids of their own."

Fans, meanwhile, received a reminder this weekend of just how long a career Vizquel has had when he played his 2,584th career game at shortstop, the most at that position in major league history. And just to prove he hasn't slowed down much, he broke the record held by Luis Aparicio by playing in both games of a doubleheader.

Vizquel says he didn't think about the record until it became a realistic possibility, but once he got close it became very important and an "awesome" thing. "Especially when you think about this guy who doesn't hit for power, it's crazy -- I'll have played more games at shortstop than Cal Ripken, and probably have more hits, too. And people don't really say anything about that."


No, they don't. Vizquel has played his entire career in the shadow of others, beginning with his major league debut on Opening Day 1989 when the media focused somewhat more attention on teammate Ken Griffey Jr.'s debut (Omar, by the way, currently has more career hits than Junior). And just when Vizquel was fully developing into the next Ozzie Smith, a new standard of shortstop began with the careers of Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Nomar Garciaparra and Miguel Tejada. Overnight, it seemed, shortstops were supposed to hit 30 home runs and bat .300 in addition to their day jobs of fielding the position.

Well, Omar couldn't match that. But like a certain great fielding shortstop named Ozzie, Vizquel worked hard and turned himself into a pretty decent hitter. He batted .333 in 1999 and hit 14 home runs in 2002. He's scored 1,344 runs and stolen 381 bases. He tied an American League record with six hits in a game. He is second to Aparicio for most hits by a shortstop in major league history.

And all the while he's played the sort of dazzling defense seldom seen outside a video game or Bugs Bunny cartoon. He's won 11 gold gloves -- more than any shortstop except Ozzie -- and has the best fielding percentage in big league history for a shortstop. I know some stat guys will say his range numbers aren't as impressive as they should be but those arguments aren't as convincing as the ones my eyes have provided over the past two decades. As reliable as the tides, he is the best fielding shortstop of his era with the surest hands and belongs in the Hall of Fame. He'll get my vote the first time his name is on the ballot, and a poll of 10 other voters found overwhelming support for him as well.

The interesting thing is that were Vizquel to come up today, a team might not be interested in giving a young shortstop with no power enough time to develop his bat in this offense-obsessed era.

"It would have depended on what type of team you were on," he said. "I was with the Mariners and we weren't picked to win our division in those years so they saw a guy who had enthusiasm, who had motivation, who had the passion to play everyday, who had good hands. And they gave me time to develop as a hitter. I only switch-hit for a year before I got to the majors. The very next year I'm in the majors facing major league pitching after only six months of switch-hitting. I was like, you've got to be s----ing me, this is going to be really hard.


"But I did my job defensively and they gave me the opportunity to play everyday. I listened to the coaches, I had a good attitude. There are more things to staying in the big leagues than hitting home runs."

When all the talk was about the shortstop Holy Trinity of Jeter, Nomar and A-Rod, few ever thought to make it a Fab Four by including Omar. Hell, what did fielding your position brilliantly mean compared to hitting home runs or leading the league in batting? But the funny thing about the Holy Trinity is that while Nomar and A-Rod don't play the position anymore, Omar still does, at age 41.

"I feel great about myself," Omar said in answer to a question about retirement during spring training. "I'm in great shape. I'm doing everything I can to compete with these young guys. It just depends on what kind of year I have if I have a down year I don't know if I'll keep playing."

At last glance, he was hitting .216, which is way below his career average, so we'll have to see how he finishes the season. In the meantime, do yourself a favor. Just in case this is Omar's farewell season, go treat yourself by watching the best fielding shortstop you'll ever see who doesn't do backflips.

Players with 2,000 games played at shortstop in the major leagues:

1. Omar Vizquel: 2,585
2. Luis Aparicio*: 2,583
3. Ozzie Smith*: 2,511
4. Cal Ripken*: 2,302
5. Larry Bowa: 2,222
6. Luke Appling*: 2,218
7. Dave Concepcion: 2,178
8. Rabbit Maranville*: 2,153
9. Alan Trammell: 2,139
10. Bill Dahlen: 2,132
11. Bert Campaneris: 2,097
12. Barry Larkin: 2,085
13. Tommy Corcoran: 2,073
14. Royce Clayton: 2,053
15. Roy McMillan: 2,028
16. Pee Wee Reese*: 2,014

* Hall of Famer