Omar Vizquel

Omar Enrique Vizquel González (born April 24, 1967), nicknamed "Little O", is a Venezuelan former professional baseball shortstop.

During his 24-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, Vizquel played for the Seattle Mariners, Cleveland Indians, San Francisco Giants, Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox, and Toronto Blue Jays.

In Venezuela he played for Leones del Caracas.

At the time of his retirement, Vizquel was the oldest position player in the Major Leagues, and the only active position player with service time in the 1980s.

He is one of only 31 players in baseball history to play in Major League games in four decades, and the only one who played shortstop.

Vizquel was the last active player in any of the major North American professional sports leagues to have played in the 1980s.

He learned to switch hit from Bill Plummer who managed Vizquel with the Leones del Caracas, in 1986–87 and 1988–89, and coached and managed the Mariners.

Originally signed by the Mariners as a non-drafted free agent in 1984, Vizquel made his Major League debut on April 3, 1989.

Batting ninth in the lineup, he went 0-for-3 while making five assists, a double play and an error in a 3–2 loss to the Oakland Athletics.

Three nights later, he collected his first career hit in the third inning against Storm Davis with a single, later scoring on a Darnell Coles double, although the Mariners lost 11–3 to the Athletics.

Widely considered one of baseball's all-time best fielding shortstops, Vizquel won 11 Gold Glove Awards, including nine consecutive from 1993 to 2001.

Among shortstops, his .985 fielding percentage is tied for highest all-time, he is the all-time leader in games played, and the all-time leader in double plays turned.

At the end of the 1993 season, Vizquel was traded by the Mariners to the Indians for Félix Fermín, Reggie Jefferson, and cash.

Vizquel won nine consecutive Gold Gloves with the Mariners and Indians, starting with his first in 1993 with Seattle and continuing until 2001.

During Vizquel's career in Cleveland, the Indians made it to the World Series twice, losing to the Atlanta Braves in 1995 and to the Florida Marlins in 1997.

Vizquel is a lifetime .250 hitter in 57 postseason games.

Vizquel tied Cal Ripken Jr.'s American League record for most consecutive games at shortstop without an error (95, between September 26, 1999, and July 21, 2000), since surpassed.

Vizquel ranked as the all-time hits leader among players from Venezuela (2,877; 44th all-time) until May 12, 2021, when he was surpassed by Miguel Cabrera.

Vizquel has third-most hits all time among shortstops, behind Derek Jeter and Honus Wagner.

Vizquel is also the career sacrifice hits leader of the live-ball era.

In 1999, Vizquel hit over .300 and scored 100 runs for the first time in his career, finishing the season with a .333 batting average and 112 runs scored for an Indians team that scored a league-leading 1,009 runs.

Vizquel hit second in the line-up between lead-off man Kenny Lofton and third-place hitter Roberto Alomar in the most productive offensive line-up in Cleveland baseball history.

This line-up also included power hitters Jim Thome and Manny Ramirez.

On August 5, 2001, Vizquel hit a three-run triple in the ninth inning against the Seattle Mariners to tie the game 14–14, capping a comeback from a 14–2 deficit.

The Indians went on to win 15–14 in 11 innings, tying the record for the largest comeback win in history.

Alex Rodriguez broke Vizquel's streak and won the award in 2002.

Vizquel reached career highs in 2002 hitting 14 homers and 72 RBI, but his success was interrupted by the need for surgery on his right knee.

He tied the 2002 All-Star Game 7–7 with an RBI triple in the eighth inning.

As a result of his knee injury in 2002 and a follow-up operation, he appeared in only 64 games in 2003.

In a game on May 27, 2003, Vizquel had a straight steal of home against the Detroit Tigers.

He caught Tigers pitcher Steve Avery by surprise and made it home without a throw.

Vizquel returned in 2004 to hit .291 in 148 games.

At the end of the season, Vizquel was signed by the Giants as a free agent.

Vizquel won two additional Gold Gloves in 2005 and 2006 with the San Francisco Giants.

On June 23, 2007, the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame inducted Vizquel, along with former Giants outfielder Matty Alou, into its Hall of Fame during an on-field, pre-game ceremony.

On May 7, 2012, Vizquel became the oldest player to play at shortstop in Major League history, surpassing Bobby Wallace, who played 12 games with the St. Louis Cardinals at the age of 44 in 1918.

From 2014 to 2017, he was the Detroit Tigers' first-base, infield and baserunning coach.

He was manager for the Toros de Tijuana of the Mexican League.

Starting in 2020, various allegations of domestic abuse and sexual assault emerged against him.

Vizquel started his career with the Leones del Caracas of the Venezuelan Winter League together with Tony Armas, Bo Díaz and Andrés Galarraga.