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Cleveland Indians: Omar Vizquel’s Bat Should Keep Him Out Of The Baseball HOF?

By Nick Dudukovich

Mar 27, 2015; Dunedin, FL, USA; Dark clouds fill the sky as Detroit Tigers coach Omar Vizquel (15) hits balls during infield practice before the start of the spring training game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Florida Auto Exchange Park. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 27, 2015; Dunedin, FL, USA; Dark clouds fill the sky as Detroit Tigers coach Omar Vizquel (15) hits balls during infield practice before the start of the spring training game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Florida Auto Exchange Park. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports /
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Former Cleveland Indians shortstop Omar Vizquel shouldn’t be in the Baseball HOF because he’d be the worst offensive player in the Hall, writes FanGraphs’ Craig Edwards. Even so, that’s not reason to keep him out.

FanGraphs writer Craig Edwards doesn’t think Omar Vizquel doesn’t belong in the Hall of Fame because of his bat.

Not exactly the scoop of the century I realize, but hang in there with me for a second.

He acknowledges that there are men in the Hall with poor offensive reputations. Ozzie Smith, Phil Rizzuto, Nellie Fox come to mind.

Edwards believes Omar was so bad at the plate, that his bat is a reason to keep him out of the Hall.

“If he were mediocre on offense, he would a great argument for the Hall.” That’s how Edwards summarizes his case against Vizquel’s Hall of Fame bid, which begins in the January of 2018.

Edwards uses most of his column to prove Ozzie Smith was a “vastly superior player,” his words, not mine, to Vizquel. It’s actually an interesting read, because if you look at Omar’s slash line (.272/.333/.328) you’d assume he was miles ahead of Smith (.262/.333/.328).

While intriguing, I couldn’t help but think how none of these points matter. Smith is the Hall of Fame for one reason, and one reason only: his glove!

Edwards spent the first half his article comparing Smith and Vizquel from a defensive perspective.

He used the Defensive Runs Above Average metric.

Ozzie Smith is No. 1 on the list (375.3). Brooks Robinson is second (359.8). Vizquel is seventh (263.8)

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“A player has to be really good over a long period of time to crack this list, and Omar Vizquel was, coming up seventh. He’s ahead of a handful of guys in the Hall of Fame based almost solely on their gloves,” Edwards wrote. “The numbers…would say that, for every 10- runs Ozzie Smith saved, then Vizquel saved seven. A similar conversion would say for every 10 runs Vizquel saved, Alan Trammel saved seven.”

So while Vizquel wasn’t as great as Smith, he’s better than guys the Hall’s already shunned (Trammel).

Edwards left me very confused by his defensive comparisons. I had to go back and re-read the headline because he had just convinced me that Vizquel should be a Hall of Famer based solely on his glove.

There’s Ozzie, and then there’s Omar. Smith was the greatest defensive shortstop of his generation, and Vizquel was the best of his. Case closed.

Edwards then went into an in-depth analysis about offense, and none of if mattered to me. Smith isn’t a Hall of Famer because of his bat, and Omar won’t be either.

Next: These Two Deserve A Statue At Progressive Field

Vizquel’s glove was great. Elite, if you will.  He deserves to immortalized in Cooperstown forever, right along side The Wizard.

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