Omar Vizquel, does he belong in the HOF?

[yankeebiscuitfan]

I always have admired Omar Vizquel. IMO he is a great fielding shortstop. At bat he was never spectacular except for one career year in 1999 when he hit .333. Somehow his fielding suffered then when he posted one of his lowest fielding percentages: .976. Even at 41, when I saw him play with the Giants he was still a good fielder.

A life time .272 hitter and a lifetime .985 fielder in a 20+ year career.

As far as I am concerned he should be enshrined in Cooperstown.

What do you think? Does he belong in the HOF and if so, on the first ballot?

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+	TB	GDP	HBP	SH	SF	IBB	Pos	Awards
1989	22	SEA	AL	143	431	387	45	85	7	3	1	20	1	4	28	40	.220	.273	.261	.534	50	101	6	1	13	2	0	*6
1990	23	SEA	AL	81	285	255	19	63	3	2	2	18	4	1	18	22	.247	.295	.298	.593	66	76	7	0	10	2	0	6
1991	24	SEA	AL	142	482	426	42	98	16	4	1	41	7	2	45	37	.230	.302	.293	.595	66	125	8	0	8	3	0	*6/4
1992	25	SEA	AL	136	527	483	49	142	20	4	0	21	15	13	32	38	.294	.340	.352	.692	95	170	14	2	9	1	0	*6
1993	26	SEA	AL	158	630	560	68	143	14	2	2	31	12	14	50	71	.255	.319	.298	.618	67	167	7	4	13	3	2	*6	GG
1994	27	CLE	AL	69	322	286	39	78	10	1	1	33	13	4	23	23	.273	.325	.325	.650	70	93	4	0	11	2	0	6	GG
1995	28	CLE	AL	136	622	542	87	144	28	0	6	56	29	11	59	59	.266	.333	.351	.684	78	190	4	1	10	10	0	*6	GG
1996	29	CLE	AL	151	623	542	98	161	36	1	9	64	35	9	56	42	.297	.362	.417	.779	98	226	10	4	12	9	0	*6	GG
1997	30	CLE	AL	153	642	565	89	158	23	6	5	49	43	12	57	58	.280	.347	.368	.715	85	208	16	2	16	2	1	*6	GG
1998	31	CLE	AL	151	660	576	86	166	30	6	2	50	37	12	62	64	.288	.358	.372	.730	89	214	10	4	12	6	1	*6	AS,GG
1999	32	CLE	AL	144	664	574	112	191	36	4	5	66	42	9	65	50	.333	.397	.436	.833	110	250	8	1	17	7	0	*6/9	AS,MVP-16,GG
2000	33	CLE	AL	156	717	613	101	176	27	3	7	66	22	10	87	72	.287	.377	.375	.753	92	230	13	5	7	5	0	*6	GG
2001	34	CLE	AL	155	693	611	84	156	26	8	2	50	13	9	61	72	.255	.323	.334	.657	75	204	14	2	15	4	0	*6	GG
2002	35	CLE	AL	151	663	582	85	160	31	5	14	72	18	10	56	64	.275	.341	.418	.759	104	243	7	8	7	10	3	*6	AS
2003	36	CLE	AL	64	285	250	43	61	13	2	2	19	8	3	29	20	.244	.321	.336	.657	78	84	11	0	5	1	0	6
2004	37	CLE	AL	148	651	567	82	165	28	3	7	59	19	6	57	62	.291	.353	.388	.741	99	220	12	1	20	6	0	*6
2005	38	SFG	NL	152	651	568	66	154	28	4	3	45	24	10	56	58	.271	.341	.350	.691	82	199	10	5	20	2	0	*6	GG
2006	39	SFG	NL	153	659	579	88	171	22	10	4	58	24	7	56	51	.295	.361	.389	.749	93	225	13	6	13	5	3	*6	GG
2007	40	SFG	NL	145	575	513	54	126	18	3	4	51	14	6	44	48	.246	.305	.316	.621	61	162	14	1	14	3	6	*6
2008	41	SFG	NL	92	300	266	24	59	10	1	0	23	5	4	24	29	.222	.283	.267	.550	45	71	4	0	7	3	9	6
2009	42	TEX	AL	62	195	177	17	47	7	2	1	14	4	0	13	27	.266	.316	.345	.660	71	61	0	0	5	0	0	654
2010	43	CHW	AL	108	391	344	36	95	11	1	2	30	11	7	34	45	.276	.341	.331	.673	82	114	8	2	7	4	0	54/6D
2011	44	CHW	AL	52	165	151	16	37	5	1	0	8	1	2	8	17	.245	.280	.291	.571	56	44	2	0	4	2	0	54/6D3

[Old Sweater]

I believe he should but he is my favorite player. The guy is a book about how shortstop should be played.

I had the pleasure of seeing the 44 year old Omar play 3rd this year for the White Sox in a game I attended and seen him turn a double into an out.

[Mudge]

Here's my best effort to compare Vizquel to similarly gifted defensive shortstops

HOF -- Ozzie Smith: career oWAR: 43.0, dWar: 21.6. TOTAL WAR: 64.6.
HOF -- Luis Aparicio: career oWAR: 38.4, dWar: 11.5. TOTAL WAR: 49.9.
No HOF -- Mark Belanger: career oWAR: 11.6, dWar: 20.9. TOTAL WAR: 32.5

Omar Vizquel: career oWAR: 29.0, dWAR: 13.0. TOTAL WAR: 42.0.

Probably not for Vizquel. It took Aparicio 7 years of voting before he made it.

[yankeebiscuitfan]

Here's my best effort to compare Vizquel to similarly gifted defensive shortstops

HOF -- Ozzie Smith: career oWAR: 43.0, dWar: 21.6. TOTAL WAR: 64.6.
HOF -- Luis Aparicio: career oWAR: 38.4, dWar: 11.5. TOTAL WAR: 49.9.
No HOF -- Mark Belanger: career oWAR: 11.6, dWar: 20.9. TOTAL WAR: 32.5

Omar Vizquel: career oWAR: 29.0, dWAR: 13.0. TOTAL WAR: 42.0.

Probably not for Vizquel. It took Aparicio 7 years of voting before he made it.

You may be right. But Vizquel is still a fan favorite IMO. So maybe he will make it on the first ballot.

[TTMCentral]

Omar Vizquel: career oWAR: 29.0, dWAR: 13.0. TOTAL WAR: 42.0.

Probably not for Vizquel. It took Aparicio 7 years of voting before he made it.

If he is liked by the community, I believe he might make it. Just may take him a few more years than Luis for election.

[catman]

He'll get enough votes in his first year to stay on the ballot. Who knows if he'll make it or not. He's a great fielder and is still a "pesky" hitter.

[Old Sweater]

As far as the media goes, you always hear TV and radio announcers mention Li'l O and the HOF in the same sentence.

[capz1990]

will he make it? i dont know... if he did i certainly wouldnt have any problem with it.... there are players in there similiar to him so he must be at least HEAVILY considered... great fielder

[thefivepointfivehole]

He is another player who I think will get extra consideration if he finds himself on a ballot with players linked to steroids. (I.e. Bonds, A-Rod at some point, Raphael Palmero, Sosa)

[Mudge]

He is another player who I think will get extra consideration if he finds himself on a ballot with players linked to steroids. (I.e. Bonds, A-Rod at some point, Raphael Palmero, Sosa)

That's a good point. I keep forgetting that much of the election on any given year depends on the other players on the ballot.