Omar Vizquel inducted into Indians Hall of Fame
By Brian Miller
The Detroit Tigers are visiting the Cleveland Indians tonight and it marks yet another return for the venerable Omar Vizquel. Vizquel is currently serving as the first base coach for the Tigers and tonight, as was the case last night, he will receive a standing ovation from the Indians crowd when he takes the field.
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Of course Vizquel has always received standing ovations when he visits Cleveland.
Tonight will be different as Vizquel will be inducted into the Cleveland Indians Hall of Fame prior to the start of the game. The Indians honor their history in the center field area of the stadium called “Heritage Park”.
Vizquel will join former teammates, Charles Nagy, Kenny Lofton, Carlos Baerga, Sandy Alomar and Manager Mike Hargrove. This is the first year that Vizquel has been eligible for induction.
“It’s very few chances you have to be a part of a Hall of Fame,” Vizquel told the team’s official website. “I think it’s a prestige thing for many players that you can even mention to be in such a home, especially with all the great players that have been in the organization for a long time.”
“[I think of what could have been] every time that I walk into Cleveland,” Vizquel said. “Those really were the best times for me as a player.”
Vizquel, an 11 time Golden Glove Award recipient, was the pride of Cleveland through the 1990’s and still remains my wife’s true love. Kidding aside, he was a member of the Tribe’s 1995 and 1997 World Series teams and is one of the best shortstops in Major League Baseball history, holding the league’s all-time best fielding percentage, .985, double plays turned, 1,735, and games played at that position 2,709.
He is eligible for Major League Baseball Hall of Fame consideration in 2018.
First pitch tonight is at 7:05.