Thursday, August 29, 2013

#68 Omar Vizquel

About the Front: It's our second straight player who remained active well into his forties. Though Omar Vizquel was a spry 25 when this picture was taken, he's already got his warmup pullover tucked into his uniform pants. That's some sharp old-man fashion, there.

About the Back: A 12-game hitting streak in A-ball might be the saddest statistic that Topps has unearthed yet in this set.

Triple Play:

1. In addition to his 11 Gold Gloves, Omar also set several defensive longevity records at shortstop. He had the most career double plays turned (1,734), games played at the position (2,709), and seasons played at the position (24). He retired just last season after appearing in 60 games for the Blue Jays as a 45-year-old utility player.

2. Omar received the blessing of Hall of Famer and fellow Venezuelan shortstop Luis Aparicio to wear Little Looie's number 11 when he joined the White Sox in 2010. The White Sox had long since retired the number to honor Aparicio.

3. Vizquel's hobbies include drumming, painting, and keeping exotic animals. His menagerie includes chinchillas, llamas, and kangaroos.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: To my young mind, Omar was one of the dorkiest-looking guys in this set. The high-set cap, the puckered face, the aforementioned warmup tucked into the pants, the fake stirrups...it's not a great look.

Bill James Said: "He's not a good hitter (his .298 slugging percentage was the lowest of any major league regular), but he's a good bunter and will take a walk, so he's not an automatic out either."

On This Date in 1993: August 29. Living Single premieres on Fox. Did you know that it was on the air for five seasons?

3 comments:

  1. Omar's high cap always bothered me. ... and that sounds like the basis for a Seinfeld episode.

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  2. Really Topps? You had a hard time finding a better action shot of... Omar Vizquel?

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  3. Night Owl - You may never be a Gold Glove shortstop, but at least you know how to wear a cap.

    Backstop Cards - Maybe somebody at Topps had it in for Omar.

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