Even though he'll turn 43 in April, Omar Vizquel isn't assuming this will be his final season, according to MLB.com's Chris Haft. Haft reports that the veteran defensive specialist hopes to stick around for as long as his body lets him.
"My body's holding on good, I'm feeling good, I feel I have the passion for it, I consider that I had a good year last year (.266 in 62 games with Texas) and that's why I'm here, because my body's telling me that I can still be out there and compete with the other guys."
Vizquel signed a one-year, $1.375MM pact with the White Sox shortly after the 2009 season. While his 195 plate appearances with the Rangers last year were a career-low, he still provided solid value off the bench. In the admittedly limited sample size, his defense was as good as ever, according to UZR/150. Until those numbers slip, he should be able to find a role as a utility infielder and late-inning defensive replacement.
The longer he plays, the chances get greater that he could achieve 3,000 hits.
Yeah hes only 296 away so he still has an outside chance.
question is, which team will he hit number 3,000 with? Just for the hec of it, I have to say the Indians.
Don’t think it matters.. He is a shoo-in hall of fame player.
Of course it’s always nice :)
I think the Indians should sign Omar Vizquel, Manny, Thome next of-season and ask Dennis Martinez to come back from retirement!!
Maybe they can dig up cy young’s grave and have his dead body start opening day while their at it?
How much worse than their current starters can he be right :)
Ferrariman, come on…We all know that Cy Young can’t pitch on Opening Day…Bob Feller is already slated to be the Indians number 1 man! Come on Ferrariman!
My issue w/ Cy Young has always been who was he playing against? The league was not particularly developed or powerful at that point & teams were not offensively oriented.
This of course is not Cy Young’s fault and you need to get over it. By your logic they all would be Cy Young’s in that era.
Not true. Perhaps Cy Young was the rare talent of his day & today would still be a top tier pitcher but nothing out of the ordinary. If top pitchers of today were sent back in time, I venture that several could equate if not surpass his performances.
Furthermore, if the talent pool were deeper & more offense was allowed in the game as well as coloured players, the challenges Young was facing on the mound would be increased exponentially.
Ricky the point is the era in which Cy Young pitched, he himself has 0 control over the players he faced as far as their own abilities to tune themselves offensively and adjust to the pitchers they faced. If you have this problem with Cy Young then you could make the case for endless numbers of players as to how they would adjust in different era’s. Cy Young had 0 control of the era he pitched in and the nature of the game he nonetheless dominated and in comparison to other pitchers of the same exact era he was the cats meow. Lighten up on the guy, he deserves what he gets. I agree with you in adding players of all races and nationalities the talent pool is way way deeper, no one can dispute that.
This is also the definition of a player who truly truly has his life dedicated to the game of Baseball. I love when this happens.
If he can hit ~.250 and maintain that level of play with the glove, he’ll have a job somewhere every year for as long as he wants.
Vizquel should just be honest and say what he really thinks, “I’ll retire when Jose Mesa dies.”
Very few players can transition seamlessly from high quality regular to non-problem making back-up utility guy. I don’t think he needs to cross 3,000 hits to get to Cooperstown, but the closer he gets the better his case.
This is what happens when players don’t take steroids.
Omar was one of my all time favorites to watch growing up, he still is. If this guy doesn’t make the hall of fame than it would be a crying shame. What this guy does with the glove, and what he continues to do with the glove is nothing short of amazing. I can’t see any team who WOULDNT want Omar on their team.