ARLINGTON, Texas — During his more than two decades in Major League Baseball, Omar Vizquel has been called a lot of things-ageless wonder, defensive wizard, a testament to longevity. He has also been well traveled, as the 45-year-old is now playing in Toronto, the sixth different team he has played for in his storied career.
Sure, the veteran infielder has won 11 Gold Gloves during his storied career and is considered one of the top if not the top player ever to come from Venezuela. But the true measure of his impact on the great game doesn't just come in his numerous accomplishments it also manifests itself in the young infielders he has instructed in the finer points of being a successful major leaguer.
One of his more higher-profile pupils is current Texas Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus, a 2010 American League All-Star who is considered one of the top young shortstops in the game. The talented 23-year-old infielder grew up idolizing Vizquel, a national hero back in Venezuela, so when the two were teammates in 2009, Andrus took full advantage of getting the rare opportunity to play alongside his idol.
"Every time I see him it's fun for sure," Andrus said before Friday's game with the Blue Jays. "I got to talk to him again, got to pick his brain a little bit. But it's a lot of fun. Hopefully he's playing [this weekend]. I love it when he's playing. It's always going to be a lot of fun."
He and Vizquel continue to be close friends and anytime the young Ranger shortstop has a question about a nuance or detail of playing one of the toughest positions on the diamond, he doesn't hesitate to either call or text his mentor.
"Yeah, [we talk] a little bit, not like we used to. Every time I have a question or something, I go to him," Andrus said. "We're really good friends. He's still my idol."
This is Vizquel's first season with the Blue Jays and in a somewhat ironic twist, his manager in Toronto is someone he was teammates with in Cleveland back in 1995, second-year Jays skipper John Farrell. Even though some 17 years have passed since they were teammates with the Indians, the former Oklahoma State standout sees Omar as the same kind of player and human being as he was back then, always willing to give his time to help out a teammate.
"There's a lot of knowledge to tap into. He is very giving of his time. The work that he's done with both Brett [Lawrie] and Yunel [Escobar] on the left side of the infield, you see them out there working together every day. I think anytime a peer has that kind of experience and willingness to impart, sometimes the message from him as opposed to one of the coaches might resonate a little bit more because he's dressing right next to them and he's in the fire, on the front line with the other guys," Farrell said. "He has been everything we have anticipated as far as the leadership capabilities and what he brings with the intangibles."
Besides his work with Jays' starting third sacker Brett Lawrie and shortstop Yunel Escobar, Vizquel has also helped out Toronto's starting second baseman Kelly Johnson, a veteran infielder who hails from Austin.
"He's a smart guy," Johnson said. "To play this long in the game, you've got to be special in all ways. So he brings a lot to the table. Any time you've got a question, he's a real easy guy to go and ask. It's easy to ask players first since they're going to battle with you and on the field still. To have a player like that is kind of like a coach. It's nice."
Even now at age 45, Omar Vizquel continues to epitomize what baseball is all about. Throughout his first 22 seasons in the big leagues, he's always been a guy who never forgot how truly blessed he is to be playing the same game he grew up loving in his native Venezuela. And that love of baseball showed in everything he did, whether it was offering some sage advice to a younger teammate or addressing a member of the media who wanted some insight into what made one of the greatest defensive infielders to ever roam a diamond tick.
Vizquel made the Blue Jays as a non-roster player this spring, leading some to wonder when he might actually call it quits. Who knows? This could be his final season in the bigs or he could play several more years, getting ever so closer to age 50 before he ultimately decides to hang his spikes up. But if Omar Vizquel has proven anything during his more than two decades in the big leagues, it's to never count him out, even now at age 45.
