Topic: Omar Vizquel

Omar Enrique Vizquel González (Spanish pronunciation: ; born April 24, 1967 in Caracas, Venezuela), nicknamed "Little O", is a Venezuelan Major League Baseball shortstop and third baseman for the Chicago White Sox, currently in his 23rd major league season. Previously, Vizquel played for the Seattle Mariners (1989–1993), the Cleveland Indians (1994–2004), the San Francisco Giants (2005–2008), and the Texas Rangers (2009). In Venezuela he played with the team Leones del Caracas.

Vizquel is considered one of baseball's all-time best fielding shortstops, winning nine consecutive Gold Gloves (1993–2001) and two more in 2005 and 2006. He tied Cal Ripken's AL record, since surpassed, for most consecutive games at shortstop without an error (95 between September 26, 1999 and July 21, 2000). Currently, his .985 career fielding percentage is the highest of all-time for a shortstop in Major League history. On May 25, 2008, Vizquel became the all-time leader in games played at shortstop, passing Luis Aparicio. Vizquel is the all-time leader in double plays made while playing shortstop. He has the most hits recorded by any player from Venezuela (2,801; 47th all-time, as of April 11, 2011), surpassing Aparicio's record of 2,677 on June 25, 2009. On May 24, 2010, Vizquel became the shortstop with the second most hits all time, behind Derek Jeter. Currently, Vizquel is the oldest position player in the Major Leagues, and the second-oldest signed player overall behind pitcher Tim Wakefield. As of 2011, he is the only signed player with service time in the 1980s (Jamie Moyer currently remains unsigned). Vizquel is one of only 29 players in baseball history to date to play in Major League games in four decades.

Vizquel started his career with the Leones del Caracas of the Venezuelan Winter League together with Tony Armas, Bo Díaz and Andrés Galarraga. Originally signed by the Mariners as a non-drafted free agent in 1984, Vizquel made his Major League debut on April 3, 1989.