The Rangers Beat: Saturday Notes

Posted on June 6th, 2009 6:02pm by Evan Grant
Filed under Baseball, Rangers notes, Texas Rangers
Sometime soon, Omar Vizquel will sitting atop the Venezuelan hit list (Photo: R.P. Washburne)

Sometime soon, Omar Vizquel will sit atop the Venezuelan hit list. (Photo: R.P. Washburne)

BOSTON - Omar Vizquel has 23 games with at least four hits in his career, but none since Sept., 2007.

If he somehow finds another such game Sunday, however, he will become the all-time leader in hits from Venezuela, passing Hall of Famer Luis Aparicio. It is no small feat.

“This really will mean everything to me,” said Vizquel, who will start in place of Elvis Andrus at shortstop for the Red Sox series finale. “In a lot of ways, this accomplishment will complete my career. Everybody down there is aware of where I stand on the list. [Aparicio] is so respected there. He is like a God. I feel the same way about him. That’s what makes this so amazing. ”

Vizquel began Saturday with 2,774 hits, three behind Aparicio. Vizquel, however, leads Aparicio in Gold Gloves 11-9. Vizquel is the all-time leader in Gold Gloves among shortstops. Once he topples the hit record, there will be only one hurdle left for him to climb to surpass Aparicio as the icon of Venezuelan baseball: And that’s election the Hall of Fame.

SS Elvis Andrus said Vizquel is already considered on the same level as Aparicio in Venezuela. And that level is a pedestal. Andrus was born 15 years after Aparicio played his last game and didn’t even see video of him until a couple of weeks ago when the MLB Network showed an old game of his.

“He’s like a legend when you are talking about baseball in Venezuela. “Even now, little kids know exactly who he is. Everybody wants to follow in his footsteps. Omar is already there for me.”

Foreign Kings
All-Time MLB Foreign-born hits leaders
Country Leader Hits Active leader Hits
Venezuela Luis Aparicio 2,677 Omar Vizquel 2,674
Dom. Rep. Julio Franco 2,586 Manny Ramirez 2,424
Mexico Vinny Castilla 1,884 Juan Castro 556
Cuba Rafael Palmeiro 3,020 Y. Betancourt 569
Puerto Rico Roberto Clemente 3,000 Ivan Rodriguez 2,647
Canada Larry Walker 2,160 Matt Stairs 1,323
Japan Ichiro Suzuki 1,877 Ichiro 1,877
All stats thru Friday.

Briefly: Manager Ron Washington said he expects to start C Taylor Teagarden in place of Jarrod Saltalamacchia on Sunday. … When Jason Bay’s infield hit was changed to an error on 1B Chris Davis Friday, it erased the only earned run charged to RHP Kevin Millwood. As such, he became only the eighth Rangers pitcher to work at least seven innings without an earned run in Fenway Park. Kenny Rogers, on July 16, 1995, was the last.

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3 Comments to “The Rangers Beat: Saturday Notes”
  • Tsing Sao @ June 6th, 2009 at 10:36 pm

    We should be all proud to have a presence like Vizquel in a Ranger uniform. He brings knowledge, experience and pride to the franchise, plus a tremendous influence on Elvis Andrus.

    Great read,

    Thanks.

  • tomckil @ June 6th, 2009 at 10:39 pm

    Very informative post, Evan. Thanks much.

  • R P Washburne @ June 7th, 2009 at 1:46 am

    This photo speaks of the sense of quiet, confident strength and inner peace that Visquel exhibits at all times. Although reserved, he willingly signs autographs and appears to be enjoying being a part of this team. I rarely comment on my photos, but wanted to say that from my perspective he appears to be an all around good guy. The statistics don’t fully explain why the Rangers are fortunate to have him.