Talk:Omar Vizquel

In the late 1990's, while the rest of the baseball world heaped attention on big-hitting shortstops (Ripken, Jeter, Rodriguez, Garciaparra, Tejada), Clevelanders were treated to the spectacular defense of Omar Vizquel.

Sadly, despite earning nine consecutive Gold Gloves (1993-2001)and ten for his career, Vizquel never received the national acclaim of Ozzie Smith. I was surprised that Ozzie made the Hall of Fame based solely on his defense; I harbor no illusion that Omar will receive any serious consideration for the Hall.

Ozzie wasn't much of a hitter early on, but his hitting was not as bad overall as the general perception. He didn't make it solely on his defense. --Just me 20:32, 7 May 2006 (EDT)

Ozzie deserved the Hall, and so does Omar. His defense is every bit as spectacular as the Wizard's, and his offensive numbers are better by some margin. His durability is incredible, having won the last two NL Gold Gloves at 38 and 39, and he should win again this year. If a player got an RBI for every run he saved defensively all by himself, Omar would be the all-time leader.