Blue Jays Birthdays: Omar Vizquel

Omar Vizquel turns 56 today. It was my sister’s birthday yesterday.

Omar owns 11 Gold Gloves. The first came as a member of the Seattle Mariners in 1993. To put it into perspective, the Mariners played in the Kingdome back then. Does anyone remember the Kingdome? That was one ugly building. Vizquel’s first hit was on April 6, 1989. Omar spent five years with the Mariners. In 1993, the Mariners traded him to Cleveland for Felix Fermin, Reggie Jefferson, and some money. He spent 11 years with Cleveland, making it to the playoffs six times. After that, he went to the Giants for four seasons and played for the Rangers and White Sox before joining the Blue Jays. He played his last season for us, giving us veteran presents and a .235/.265/.281 batting line in 60 games.

In a 24-year MLB career, Vizquel had 2877 hits, 456 doubles, and 404 stolen bases, with a .272/.336/.352 slash line. He received 19.5% of the Writer’s vote in Hall of Fame balloting last year, his sixth time on the ballot. He had been up to 52.6% his third time on the ballot, but allegations of domestic abuse and sexual harassment hurt his numbers.