Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Question of the Week

Howard, Torrance, CA
Subj: Little O
Do you think Omar Vizquel deserves to be in the Hall of Fame?

I do, Howard, but I doubt other voters will be as generous in their assessments. Hall of Fame inductees are ultimately judged against their peers and Vizquel has had the misfortune of playing during the same era as offensive juggernauts like Alex Rodriquez, Derek Jeter, Miguel Tejada and even Hanley Ramirez. If voters choose to overlook his 11 gold gloves and .984 fielding percentage and focus instead on his 77 home runs 892 RBIs than Vizquel won’t have a chance. And that’s shame, because his glove has probably saved more runs than any of his fellow shortstops have generated. I personally hope Vizquel one day gains entry into Cooperstown if only to remind young players that games aren’t won exclusively in the batter’s box.