Omar Enrique Vizquel is one of the most dazzling defensive shortstops in the game with a very disciplined attitude at the plate. He is a powerful hitter, great bunter and aggressive base-runner. Signed by Seattle Mariners as an amateur free agent in 1984, he made his debut in the Major Leagues on April 3, 1989 , as Seattle 's Opening Day starting shortstop at Oakland . Recognized as one of top defensive shortstops in baseball history, Vizquel is a 3-time All-Star and 9-time Gold Glove winner with the unsurpassed fielding pct. in the history of Major League shortstops who have played at least 1,000 games at position, collecting .983 lifetime mark over 15 big league seasons. For 9 straight seasons he earned the defensive honor, which is recorded the longest Gold Glove streak for American League shortstop since the introduction of award in 1957. Vizquel graduated from Francisco Espejo High School . His father Omar Sr., played semi-pro ball in Venezuela . Vizquel is also skilled painter and sculptor. He also a rock drummer and a salsa percussionist. He also runs his own lines of designer clothing and nutritional food. He is also actively related to the community related programs and donates his artworks to various arts education programs. His biography is entitled "Omar Vizquel: My Life”. In 17 years of his MLB career, he has played in the uniforms of the Seattle Mariners (1989-1993), the Cleveland Indians (1994-2004) and the San Francisco Giants (2005-present). In his first three seasons with Seattle , he batted .220, .247 and .230 with only 39 extrabases. In 1996 he batted .297, with nine home runs, 64 runs batted in, 98 runs, 36 doubles, and a .362 on base percentage. With the Indians, he teamed with second baseman Roberto Alomar to form one of the most formidable combinations of all time. In 2002, he established career highs with 14 HRs and 72 RBI and became the only Indian representative at All-Star Game. In 2003, he appeared in only 64 games due to right knee injury for which he underwent arthroscopic surgery. In 2004, before having been acquired by the San Francisco Giants he hit .291 in 148 games. He left the Indians after setting franchise record with 62 sacrifice flies, while ranking 2nd with 279 steals, 2nd with 1,472 games played as shortstop, 5th with 5,708 at-bats, 6th with 906 runs scored and 7th with 1,616 hits. Vizquel is a multi-faceted offensive threat and is only 19th active player to record 2,000 career hits. |
