I couldn't help but smile when I read this piece in the Plain Dealer this morning.For the record, I'm way too old to idolize ballplayers like I did when I was a kid. Baseball has always been a business, and these guys are commodities. Especially in Cleveland, you can't afford to get too attached to them.
That being said, Omar Vizquel was the one guy I loved to watch ON the field.
We had a rough start however. I was living in Rockford, Illinois in 1994, the year then-Jacobs Field opened. Being a lifelong Indians fan, it killed me to be out of town when the new ballpark swung open its gates. So, I booked a flight, and came back into town to see the place.
The Tribe had the makings of a good team. And we had traded for a good-field, no-hit shortstop named Vizquel.
Needless to say, I wasn't real thrilled to see this glove wizard make not one, not two, but THREE errors in the game I traveled in to see. (A 12-9 Indians loss to the Royals on April 16, 1994)
But, gradually, his plays became more and more amazing in the field. But, it was what he did BETWEEN innings that turned into my greatest memory.
I had somehow gotten 2 passes into my then-employer's loge, and took my buddy Mike. Needless to say, we were greatly enjoying the free food and beer, when the moment happened.
The Indians were warming up in the field between innings, when the catcher (Sandy Alomar, I think), rifled his throw down to second. Omar was fielding at the bag, and as the ball arrived, he just crossed his arms.
He didn't so much catch the ball, as deflect it directly off his glove, right to Robby Alomar, who was standing next to him. Alomar then fired it around the horn to end warmups.
My reacton in the loge was something like "Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh."
That's when Mike said, without even turning to look at me, "I'm so happy you saw that. Because I wouldn't even know how to describe it to you."
We may have been the only ones in the ballpark that day to see it. And it remains a great story to this day.
When Omar's career is done, I'd love to see the Tribe sign him to a 1-day contract, like some others have done, and allow him to retire as an Indian.
(And while I'm at it, good luck to a fellow Kent Stater, Emmanuel Burris, who will likely succeed Vizquel as the Giants shortstop.)
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