CLEVELAND — Former Cleveland Indians shortstop Omar Vizquel fell short of selection for the National Baseball Hall of Fame for the third consecutive year, but by seeing another increase in votes to get him above the 50 percent mark, he will remain on the ballot for consideration in 2021.
Vizquel earned 52.6 percent of the votes (209 out of 397) in his third year on the ballot, falling short of the required 319 for induction.
Vizquel improved his votes by 10 percent from his second to third years on the ballot.
With Vizquel once again not getting selected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, it is just another Cleveland athlete who deserves a spot among the greats of his respective sport.
Here are three athletes that should be elected to the hall of fame in their particular sports.
CLAY MATTHEWS
A first-round pick of the Cleveland Browns in the 1978 NFL Draft, Matthews spent 16 years in Cleveland, where in 232 games, 216 of which were starts, he registered 76.5 quarterback sacks, 1,430 total tackles, 14 interceptions, 24 forced fumbles and 13 recoveries.
A four-time Pro Bowler in Cleveland, Matthews ranks first in Browns history in sacks, games played and most consecutive seasons, as well as second in total years of service to the organization.
Despite playing a physical position where making violent plays was not just a goal, but often, a standard set by Matthews himself, the veteran defender proved remarkably durable over his 19-year career.
By the time of his retirement, Matthews played in 278 games, making the start in 248 contests, and was on the field for 12 or more games in all but one season in nearly two decades in the NFL.
“I think they are definitely credible credentials for him,” former interim Browns coach Gregg Williams said during a post-practice press conference late in the 2018 season. “That whole family, I am just so respectful to that. Clay was a dominant player that you had to, offensively, take note of at all times.”
VIZQUEL
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.
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.
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.
Vizquel led the league in sacrifice hits four times in his career (1997, 1999 and 2004 with the Indians and 2005 with the Giants).
STIPE MIOCIC
Despite a slow start to the rematch, Miocic made good on his opportunity and avenged the loss with the technical knockout win over Daniel Cormier in the main event of UFC 241 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California on Saturday, August 17.
Following a 13-month hiatus from UFC competition, Miocic took a lot of strikes to the face on his way back to the UFC heavyweight championship. However, he withstood Cormier’s barrages of heavy-handed punches in the first three rounds and used a flurry of his own strikes to reclaim the belt.
After a lead left hook to the body late in the fourth round, Miocic landed a straight right hand to Cormier’s chin. That wobbled Cormier and Miocic moved in for the finish. Miocic landed three right hands before connecting on three short lefts while putting Cormier against the cage.
As Cormier slumped to the canvas, Miocic alternated right and left-handed punches and forced the referee’s stoppage with 52 seconds remaining in the fourth round.
Miocic’s comeback victory earned him a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus.
The record-holder for the most consecutive successful defenses of the UFC heavyweight championship, Miocic improved to 19-3-0 in his professional career with the victory over Cormier, including a 13-3 mark since joining the UFC in 2011.