[LBJ]

Omar Vizquel has quietly had a HOF career. Here is why. Ozzie Smith was a 1st ballot inductee to the HOF in 2002. I will compare Ozzie's numbers to Omar Vizquels. Since Ozzie had around 9,300 at bats, and Vizquel only has 8,220 I will project Omar's statistics out to 9,300 At bats. Is this fair? Yes. Omar, at the age of 38, is having yet another productive season on the SF Giants. Because he is not on the decline, it is fair to project Omar's stats out to 9,300 at bats.

OMAR OZZIE

Avg.- .275 .262
Hits- 2,559 2,460
RBI- 848 793
2B- 418 402
3B- 66 69
SB- 381 580
OBP%- .341 .337
SLG%- .359 .328
HR- 77 28
Runs- 1,336 1,257
SO- 941 589


Clearly, Vizquel was the better offensive player. I don't think that is the debate. Ozzie Smith was known for his GREAT defense. But, as you look at the numbers, Vizquel has better defensive numbers too. These stats are projected out to 2,500 games each.

OMAR OZZIE
Fielding%- .984 .978
DPs- 1,635 1,590
Errors- 183 281

Overall, it's pretty damn clear that Vizquel was the better ball player. The only argument left is "Did Ozzie Smith deserve to go to the HOF?" If you answered yes, then your vote should be yes for Vizquel too. But when it comes down to it, the only vote that matters is of the HOF. Will they choose to put in Vizquel?