CLEVELAND — Former Cleveland Indians shortstop Omar Vizquel will have to wait another year to be considered for induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame after falling short of the necessary votes for the third consecutive time.
Vizquel earned 52.6% of the votes (209 out of 397) in his third year on the ballot, falling short of the required 319 for induction. However, Vizquel got more than the requisite 5% to remain on the ballot and will be under consideration for the Class of 2021.
Last year, Vizquel earned 42.8% of the votes in his second year on the ballot, which means he continues to see increased support for his candidacy.
The Class of 2020 was announced live on MLB Network Tuesday night, and will feature former New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, five-time All-Star outfielder Larry Walker, and veterans committee selections in Ted Simmons (catcher) and Marvin Miller (players union pioneer).
The Indians acquired Vizquel in a trade with the Seattle Mariners after the 1993 season in exchange for first baseman Reggie Jefferson, shortstop Felix Fermin and cash, and the Venezuela native went on to spend the next 11 years making breathtaking barehanded plays in the middle of the Tribe’s infield.
Vizquel won eight straight Gold Glove awards at shortstop and appeared in three All-Star games (1998-1999, 2002) during his time with the Indians.
Although Vizquel was known more for his defensive wizardry than batting prowess during his time in Cleveland, the .283 batter had a knack for clutch hits and got on base better than 35 percent of the time. Also, he proved willing and able of stretching anything into extra bases, as he swiped 279 of his 404 career stolen bases for an Indians team that featured power hitters like Albert Belle, Jim Thome and Manny Ramirez, as well as solid contact hitters in Kenny Lofton and Carlos Baerga.
Vizquel was the No. 2 hitter in the batting order for a franchise that won the American League Central Division six times, made seven trips to the postseason, twice won the AL Pennant, and came within an out of winning the 1997 World Series.
The soft-handed shortstop carried a .985 fielding percentage, despite having 11,961 defensive chances. He combined with several second basemen, most notably Baerga, a fellow Indians Hall of Famer, and National Baseball Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar, to convert 944 double plays over his 11 years in Cleveland, an average of 85.8 per season.
Combined with Alomar, Vizquel helped turn 275 double plays for the Indians from 1999-2001, and his 1,734 career double plays turned rank first all-time. They are 144 more than Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith, who ranks second all-time for double plays turned by a shortstop (1,590).
Vizquel won one Gold Glove Award with the Mariners and two more with the San Francisco Giants for a career total of 11.
After his time with the Indians, Vizquel went on to play four seasons with the Giants (2005-2008), one with the Texas Rangers (2009), two with the Chicago White Sox (2010-2011) and his last, in 2012, with the Toronto Blue Jays.
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Vizquel finished his career with 2,877 hits, the fifth-most ever by a shortstop. Only Honus Wagner (3,420), Jeter (3,383), Cal Ripken Jr. (3,184) of the Baltimore Orioles and Milwaukee’s Robin Yount (3,142) had more hits as a shortstop, and all are either enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame or will be this summer.
A lifetime .272 hitter, Vizquel had 456 doubles, 77 triples and 80 home runs along with 951 runs batted in, 1,445 runs scored, 1,028 walks against 1,087 strikeouts, 404 stolen bases, 256 sacrifice hits and 94 sacrifice flies. He also led the league in sacrifice hits four times in his career (1997, 1999 and 2004 with the Indians and 2005 with the Giants).
Jeter, who won five World Series championships and made 14 AL All-Star teams during 20 seasons in New York, came just one vote shy of joining former teammate Mariano Rivera as a unanimous selection to the Hall of Fame. His 99.7% mark is still the second-highest in history.
Walker, whose name appeared on just 10.2% of ballots as recently as 2014, earned 76.6% in his final year of eligibility. The five-tool player spent most of his career with the Colorado Rockies, and while many penalized him for playing in the thin Denver air, he finished his 17-year tenure with a slash line of .313/.400/.565 along with 383 home runs, 230 stolen bases, and seven Gold Gloves. He was also the 1997 National League MVP, as well as a three-time NL batting champion.
The Class of 2020 will be inducted on July 27 in Cooperstown.