Is Omar Vizquel a Hall of Famer???

I'm going thru my collection again and thru multiple boxes for the first time in a while. I have most of my stars and hall of famers separated in monster boxes. It's been a while since the last time I did them so I'm finding myself going through boxes and pulling out guys like gossage, sutter, dawson, herzog, dick williams, etc and a few others that recently made it in. Most of these guys were guys that were decent players/managers but thought it might take some help for them to get in.

Recently I've decided to pull out all the larkins, alomars, and bert blylevens as I go thru them as they seem to be in line to be the next wave of inductees based on their previous vote percentages.

Vizquel is one player I'm torn with. Do I take the time to pull him out? If he doesn't make the hall, I guess I'll have them separated if people collect or want his stuff.

Thoughts?

P.S. This is your cue leatherman to do comps with Luis Aparicio, Mazeroski, Nellie Fox, etc. Schoendienst's (surprised I spelled that correctly before looking) numbers might be skewed with his managerial experience, no?

He will be one of the last to get in mostly on defense alone.

Won't be first ballot, but he will get in.

Respectable offensive numbers -NOT HOF worthy, but shows a solid career.

However, all those golden gloves, was a magician at short stop. Like SLY said, will be one of the last ones to get into the hall because of his defense

solid career but when i think HALL OF FAME i think of players that where above an beyond better then everyone else on the field. Players that you would pay the admission just to come an watch them play. Vizquel was never that guy for me.

ozzie smith is in and omars batting stats are superior.

2700-2800 hits. Best defensive shortstop in baseball for more than a decade. He's a HOFer.

stu said:

2700-2800 hits. Best defensive shortstop in baseball for more than a decade. He's a HOFer.

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thank you.

If he gets in it will in 14-15th year of waiting on the ballot.

darocker80 said:

stu said:

2700-2800 hits. Best defensive shortstop in baseball for more than a decade. He's a HOFer.

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thank you.

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He was winning gold gloves over Arod, Jeter, Ripken, etc. We are talking about one of the best defensive players in a generation. It's not always about homeruns.

currently at 390 SB. maybe he could hit the 400 milestone.

notjomommasclint said:

ozzie smith is in and omars batting stats are superior.

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But Omar did not do backflips, or play in St.Louis most of his career. Omar is a far superior all around player, but he should not get in. Of course Ozzie should not have either.

I think his numbers put him on the fence.

The deciding factor(s) will be how he scores with the intangable assets that are just as important as numbers when consideration for the Hall is in Question.

1. Was he a top player of his generation for any liength of time?
2. Was he a 'face of the game' type player?
3. Was his on-field presence greater than most?
4. Was he popular outside of his home town?
5. In 20 years, will most people still know who he was?
6. Did he bring anything to the table that made him stand out amongst his peers?

In my opinion, aside for a possible maybe for #1 & 6, the rest are all 'No'.

Thus his HOF induction is slim to none. Again, in my opinion.

t3dudek said:

solid career but when i think HALL OF FAME i think of players that where above an beyond better then everyone else on the field. Players that you would pay the admission just to come an watch them play. Vizquel was never that guy for me.

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Could not agree more! That is why the voters are ruining the hall of fame by putting so many "good" players in. This is supposed to be the best of the best! Look at the first class of 1936! They only put in Mathewson, Cobb, Ruth, Walter, and Honus! That means they left out guys like Cy Young and John McGraw, and Cap Anson just to name a few! Now they put in guys like Jim Rice, Tony Perez, and Ozzie Smith! UNREAl what has happened!

bodiaz said:

t3dudek said:

solid career but when i think HALL OF FAME i think of players that where above an beyond better then everyone else on the field. Players that you would pay the admission just to come an watch them play. Vizquel was never that guy for me.

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Could not agree more! That is why the voters are ruining the hall of fame by putting so many "good" players in. This is supposed to be the best of the best! Look at the first class of 1936! They only put in Mathewson, Cobb, Ruth, Walter, and Honus! That means they left out guys like Cy Young and John McGraw, and Cap Anson just to name a few! Now they put in guys like Jim Rice, Tony Perez, and Ozzie Smith! UNREAl what has happened!

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The NFL and NBA Hall of Fames seem to be the lenient ones when letting in "good" players. I think the Mlb HOF is almost too strict, think about it there are years when only 1-2 guys make the Baseball HOF and that seems wrong compared to other sports HOF's

If Ozzie is in Visquel gets in with flying colors. Being the best defensive player in baseball for 80% of your career isn't worth anything? It's not all about offense and hitting home runs.

matfanofold said:

I think his numbers put him on the fence.

The deciding factor(s) will be how he scores with the intangable assets that are just as important as numbers when consideration for the Hall is in Question.

1. Was he a top player of his generation for any liength of time? Best defensive player in baseball for the better part of a decade.
2. Was he a 'face of the game' type player? He didn't hit enough HR's which sadly is all anyone cares about.
3. Was his on-field presence greater than most? YES! His defense was unparalleled in baseball during his career. You don't call that a great presence?
4. Was he popular outside of his home town? Probably not, again not enough HR's.
5. In 20 years, will most people still know who he was? Anyone who actually cares about baseball will. How can you show a highlight film from the 90's and not have Vizquel in it?
6. Did he bring anything to the table that made him stand out amongst his peers? See #3

In my opinion, aside for a possible maybe for #1 & 6, the rest are all 'No'.

Thus his HOF induction is slim to none. Again, in my opinion.

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Just my opinion though.

kdailey4315 said:

If Ozzie is in Visquel gets in with flying colors. Being the best defensive player in baseball for 80% of your career isn't worth anything? It's not all about offense and hitting home runs.

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Lets not turn this thread in to a debate about Ozzies HOF worth, but if you really can not see and/or understand why Ozzis is a claer choice as a HOF'er, then you simply do not understand the Hall of Fame. Ozzie was a face of the game, loved by the whole viewing world of baseball, and his on field presence changed the dynamics of the game every time he stood on the dirt. Vizquel, despite being a top tier defender with much better numbers simply never achieved the type of respect, or love/popularity that was bestowed on to Smith. Like it or not, it's the Hall of FAME.

So then guys like Jim Edmonds and Torri Hunter should be getting in. Gold glove awards don't punch tickets to HOF. These guys have bats as well.

matfanofold said:

kdailey4315 said:

If Ozzie is in Visquel gets in with flying colors. Being the best defensive player in baseball for 80% of your career isn't worth anything? It's not all about offense and hitting home runs.

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Lets not turn this thread in to a debate about Ozzies HOF worth, but if you really can not see and/or understand why Ozzis is a claer choice as a HOF'er, then you simply do not understand the Hall of Fame. Ozzie was a face of the game, loved by the whole viewing world of baseball, and his on field presence changed the dynamics of the game every time he stood on the dirt. Vizquel, despite being a top tier defender with much better numbers simply never achieved the type of respect, or love/popularity that was bestowed on to Smith. Like it or not, it's the Hall of FAME.

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I think Ozzie should be in the HOF so I didn't read your post after the first sentence.

matchpenalty said:

So then guys like Jim Edmonds and Torri Hunter should be getting in. Gold glove awards don't punch tickets to HOF. These guys have bats as well.

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Not quite. Griffey was better than all of them as a defensive outfielder. There was no one better than Omar during his career.