Former Cleveland Indians defensive wizard Omar Vizquel has been accused of domestic abuse.
Longtime MLB defensive maven Omar Vizquel is in hot water after domestic abuse allegations.
Ken Rosenthal and Katie Strang of The Athletic dropped this bombshell on us Wednesday morning. The 11-time Gold Glove winner and three-time AL All-Star best known for starring at shortstop for the Cleveland Indians from 1994 to 2004 has been linked to domestic abuse dating back to an incident in 2016 with his ex-wife Blanca. It has kept him out of the MLB in recent years.
This expose may prevent Omar Vizquel from getting into Cooperstown
2020 is Vizquel’s fourth year on the ballot for the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest defensive players in the history of baseball. While he did enough at the plate as a contact hitter to force the conversation of his Cooperstown inclusion, his connection to domestic violence may end up preventing him from ever getting a bronze plaque.
Vizquel last played with the 2012 Toronto Blue Jays. Upon retirement, he had gotten into coaching, working for big league clubs such as the then-Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the Detroit Tigers and the Chicago White Sox. If these allegations are indeed true, this is yet another black eye on the game of baseball. Vizquel is a record-holder in many defensive metrics at the shortstop position.
With the 2021 Hall of Fame class to be announced soon, news of Vizquel’s issues do not sit well.