is omar vizquel the best defensive ss of all time

[ricky151]

I bring this up because of his 9 straight gold gloves and even though he has lost a step he is still right up there among the best defensively. In terms of longevity and being able to play a position like ss, so good and for so long is remarkable. It feels like yesterday that he was robbing guys of hits back in clevland and turning insane double plays.

[ricky151]

i guess for me its a coin toss between them. They played in different leuges during their prime defensive years. I guess i go on flips its ozzie for sure

[KCGHOST]

If you made a poll of this you find that even Omar's mother couldn't vote for him.

[BoofBonser26]

All three posts make no sense.

[Edgartohof]

I'm gonna have to go with: no.

He was/is good though. In his younger days, he was touted as the best since Ozzie (who many/most consider the best defensive SS of all-time), which is a definite compliment to him, but he still falls considerably short.

[BoSox Rule]

Not even close. Not even REMOLTELY CLOSE.

[sschirmer]

Though Omar was damn good, I too am going to have to say no. I did, however, always like watching him barehand grounders. That was awesome, and he did it more often and better than anyone else.

[ricky151]

ozzie number 1 no doubt. Would you say that arod was better defensivley than omar in thier prime. I know it does not make much of a point in saying that, but who would you rank as number 2.

[sschirmer]

Defensively I don't think A-Rod has ever been in Omar's league.

From what I've read of Indians history, Vizquel may not have been the best defensive SS in Cleveland Indians history, let alone baseball history.

[RuthMayBond]

Originally Posted by ricky151

I bring this up because of his 9 straight gold gloves and even though he has lost a step he is still right up there among the best defensively. In terms of longevity and being able to play a position like ss, so good and for so long is remarkable. It feels like yesterday that he was robbing guys of hits back in clevland and turning insane double plays.

He did not deserve hardly any of the Gold Gloves. You'd hate to hear the list of SS that are better defensively than Omar.

[sschirmer]

Jhonny Peralta.

[Solair Wright]

Ozzie Smith is a better SS, and I saw him make less errors than Vizquel. He in my opinion is a better defenseman than Omar. It isn't a Vizquel is a bad shortstop, but his Golden Gloves aren't earned as said by RuthMayBond. I'd think the current SS for Cleveland is better, but you can't have all shortstops to be great defensively, as it's one of the top three hardest positions to play in baseball.

[johnny]

Originally Posted by RuthMayBond

He did not deserve hardly any of the Gold Gloves. You'd hate to hear the list of SS that are better defensively than Omar.

He may not be the best defensively of all time, but with 9 freakin gold gloves he is certainly in the conversation. Just checked his stats, he actually now has 10 gold gloves just winning the 2005 gold glove award. So that's recognition by two leagues as to his defensive prowess.

[sschirmer]

I would say that he was certainly the best defensive SS on the Indians in the late 1990s.

[johnny]

Who was a better defensive SS than Omar in the 90's anyway?

[RuthMayBond]

Originally Posted by johnny

Who was a better defensive SS than Omar in the 90's anyway?

It was kinda after the time of Ripken/ Guillen/ Fernandez/ Trammell/ Burleson so he didn't have much competition other than Larkin

[sschirmer]

I have to say, I spent a lot of time watching Larkin here, and defensively, I would have to take Omar over Barry.

[RuthMayBond]

Originally Posted by sschirmer

I have to say, I spent a lot of time watching Larkin here, and defensively, I would have to take Omar over Barry.

I've got Larkin in the slot just above Omar, and Omar will probably pass him within a year or two. And the last question was in the 90s, and Omar has continued to add to his career value this decade while Larkin has not.

[sschirmer]

At times I have thought of Omar as a bit over-rated, but this thread makes it seem as if he was defensively inept. I certainly don't think that's the case.

[RuthMayBond]

Originally Posted by sschirmer

At times I have thought of Omar as a bit over-rated, but this thread makes it seem as if he was defensively inept. I certainly don't think that's the case.

That's not it at all. I just wanted him rated honestly, not this stuff that he was the best ever and deserved ten Gold Gloves

[DoubleX]

I like Vizquel as a player. If not for the emergence of a totally new breed of SS during his career (A-Rod, Jeter, Nomar, Tejada), Vizquel's career would be put into better perspective, and I'd say he'd have a very decent shot at the Hall (whereas I think it's pretty unlikely now given his peers).

However, I don't think he is the best defensive SS of all time. Is he up there, certainly, but I'm not sure how far. I am pretty sure though that whomever else is up there with Vizquel, they are all standing in line behind Ozzie Smith.

Also, I would not count Gold Gloves as a great way to measure defensive ability. All too often they are given out on reputation and a player collects a few more than he usually deserves. Two examples: In 1999, Rafael Palmeiro won the AL GG at 1B, despite the fact he played just 28 games in teh field, and 135 at DH. So what does that say about Vizquel's '99 award if the writers are giving the award to a DH? The next example is Derek Jeter. He has won the last two AL GG's in the void created by A-Rod's position switch and Vizquel's league switch. But I think few would seriously argue that Jeter is a GG caliber SS, much less a multiple GG winning SS.

[DoubleX]

Originally Posted by Edgartohof

He was/is good though. In his younger days, he was touted as the best since Ozzie (who many/most consider the best defensive SS of all-time), which is a definite compliment to him, but he still falls considerably short.

That's not really saying much considering their careers overlapped for 7 seasons, and their peaks separated by 5 years, at most.

Also Ozzie won his last GG in 1992, while Vizquel won his first in 1993. So Vizquel was the best defensive SS to come along in the span of that offseason? Such comparisons really only work when there is significant time separating the two.

[sschirmer]

Originally Posted by DoubleX

Also Ozzie won his last GG in 1992, while Vizquel won his first in 1993. So Vizquel was the best defensive SS to come along in the span of that offseason? .

That's great. I have to admire that type of perception.

[Utter Chaos]

Originally Posted by Solair Wright

Ozzie Smith is a better SS, and I saw him make less errors than Vizquel.

That's tough to do since Ozzie made 281 errors and Omar has only made 168. Omar also has a better fielding percentage .984 to .978.