Omar Vizquel

Omar Enrique Vizquel González (Spanish pronunciation: [oˈmaɾ βisˈkel]; 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. 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. 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. 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 1918.¹

Basics

• Position
  • Shortstop (3189)
  • Third Baseman (150)
  • Second Baseman (91)
  • Designated Hitter (6)
  • First Baseman (3)
  • Left Field (1)
  • Right Field (1)
• Major League Debut
  • Started 3 April 1989 for the Seattle Mariners against the Oakland Athletics at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.
  • Committed 1 error, but had 5 assists, including starting a 6-4-3 double play.
  • Batting ninth, went 0-3 on the day.
  • Same Debut Game as Ken Griffey, Jr.²
• Last Major League Appearance
  • Started 3 October 2012 for the Toronto Blue Jays against the Minnesota Twins at the Rogers Centre.
  • Was credited for 3 Put Outs and 1 Assist.
  • Went 1-3 slapping a single to center field for his last career at bat.
  • Was replaced with 2 outs in the top of the 9th by 2nd Basemen Mike McCoy, who assisted in the final out of the game. It was also Mike McCoy’s final appearance in Major League Baseball.³
• Times Ejected: 4
  • August 11 1995
    • Cleveland Indians at New York Yankees
    • Umpire: Derryl Cousins
    • Arguing Balls and Strikes
  • September 13, 1997
    • Cleveland Indians vs. Chicago White Sox
    • Umpire: Larry Young
    • Charged mound in his first at bat against Jim Parque in the 3rd for a pitch that was “too close.” CLE Manager Mike Hargrove was also ejected by Larry Young for arguing that Parque should be ejected. ⁴
  • July 17, 2004
    • Cleveland Indians at Seattle Mariners
    • Umpire: Jeff Nelson
    • Arguing Balls and Strikes
  • March 1, 2012
    • Toronto Blue Jays vs Texas Rangers
    • Umpire: Sam Holbrook
    • Bench Jockeying – ejected during the Rangers’ half of the fifth while not in the game. ⁵

Career Slash Line

• Batting average .272
• Hits 2,877
• Home runs 80
• Runs batted in 951
• Stolen bases 404

Teams Played For

• Butte Copper Kings: Pioneer League (Rk)
• Bellingham Mariners: Northwestern League (A-)
• Wausau Timbers: Midwestern League (A)
• Salinas Spurs: California League (A)
• Calgary Cannons: Pacific Coast League (AAA)
• Vermont Mariners: Eastern League (AA)
• Seattle Mariners: American League
• San Bernardino Spirit: California League (A+)
• Charlotte Knights: International League (AAA)
• Cleveland Indians: American League
• Lake County Captains: South Atlantic League (A)
• San Francisco Giants: National League
• Leones de Caracas: Venezuelan Winter League
• Fresno Grizzlies: Pacific Coast League (AAA)
• San Jose Giants: California League (A+)
• Texas Rangers: American League
• Chicago White Sox: American League
• Toronto Blue Jays: American League⁶

International Baseball

• Representing Venezuela
• 2006 World Baseball Classic – Player
• 2017 World Baseball Classic – Manager

Club Baseball Jobs

• Los Angeles Angels Organization
  • 2013
    • Co-Infield Coach – LA Angels
• Detroit Tigers Organization
  • 2014-2017
    • First Base Coach – Detroit Tigers
• Chicago White Sox Organization
  • 2018
    • Manager – Winston-Salem Dash: Carolina League (A+)
  • 2019
    • Manager – Birmingham Braves: Southern League (AA)
• Toros de Tijuana
  • 2020-July 2021
    • Manager – Toros de Tijuana: Liga Mexicana de Béisbol

Transfers

• April 1, 1984
  • Signed as an undrafted free agent from Venezuela by Seattle Mariners.
• December 20, 1993
  • Traded from Seattle Mariners to Cleveland Indians
  • Seattle Mariners received Felix Fermin and Reggie Jefferson
• November 16, 2004
  • Signed as a Free Agent with San Francisco Giants
• January 26, 2009
  • Signed as a Minor League Contract with Texas Rangers
• November 23, 2009
  • Signed as a free agent contract with Chicago White Sox
• January 23, 2012
  • Signed minor league contract with Toronto Blue Jays⁷

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omar_Vizquel ↩︎
2. https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1989/B04030OAK1989.htm ↩︎
3. https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2012/B10030TOR2012.htm ↩︎
4. https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1998/B09130CLE1998.htm ↩︎
5. https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2012/B05010TOR2012.htm ↩︎
6. https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=vizque001oma ↩︎
7. https://www.thebaseballcube.com/content/player/330/tranx/ ↩︎