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Omar!: My Life On and Off the Field
Omar Vizquel doesn't just make the tough plays look easy. He makes the toughest plays look fun. Widely considered one of the best defensive shortstops in the history of baseball, he is often praised by teammates, opponents, and fans alike for working so hard at his game--and for obviously enjoying it so much. His hard work has paid off. Omar has won an amazing nine consecutive Rawlings Gold Glove Awards and holds the highest career fielding percentage of anyone at the position. He has been selected for two American League All Star teams, has played in two World Series, and has been a key member of six Central Division Championship Cleveland Indians teams. In this, his first book, Omar tells the story of his life in baseball, from the sandlots of Caracas, Venezuela, to Game Seven of the World Series and beyond. Along the way he offers a candid look inside the locker room of those powerhouse Indians teams, shares anecdotes about fellow major league ballplayers, and gives plenty of lively opinions on the game they all play. Omar also leads an interesting life off the field. He organized a high-profile fundraising effort to assist flood victims in his native Venezuela. He is an accomplished painter. He designed his own house. He has his own line of designer clothing, and he has even dabbled in music and stand-up comedy. "The only way to find out what you truly enjoy is to try everything," he writes. Baseball fans will truly enjoy getting to know this remarkable ballplayer. Honest and humorous, Omar! delivers the public and private sides of Omar Vizquel in a delightful double-play combination.
251 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
November 25, 2008
Travis Jackson is probably the greatest shortstop in the long history of the Giants: I don't know anything about him, either. In my years as a Giants fan, the position was occasionally graced by such "luminaries" as Chris Speier, Jose Uribe, Royce Clayton, and Rich Aurilia; just as often, we have been subjected to such comical acts as Chris Arnold, Johnnie Lemaster, Joe Petini, and Ivan Ochoa. During my tenure as a Giants fan, I have never enjoyed watching a player play the position as I have the past 3 1/2 years of watching the great Omar Vizquel.
Omar plays the game as if gravity exerts a different force on him than it does for the rest of us. The last player I remember feeling that way about was Garry Maddox, who skimmed across the outfield as though he had a pocket of air underneath his feet. Omar plays the game with an evident sense of joyousness which I haven't seen in a player since Darryl "Hambone" Hamilton played centerfield for the Giants in the '90's. Omar could go 0 for 600, and at times last year it seemed as though that might well happen, and I still would be thrilled to watch him play. Tragically, as of this writing, it looks as though I won't have the chance; the Giants haven't picked up the option on his contract, and it would appear that the position will fall to Emmanuel "the Pride of D.C." Burriss, unless the Giants do something truly stupid and sign Rafael "How Many Errors Can I Make In One Inning Of A Deciding Play-Off Game" Furcal, the Anti-Omar, to succeed Omar. I think it would be great if Omar played a couple of years in the Japanese Leagues; he would be the most popular Gaijin since Lefty O'Doul.
As for this memoir, it is sort of a standard Baseball memoir. Again, pitchers unaccountably seem to write the most compelling autobiographies, or maybe they just hire the best ghostwriters. It was fun to see Omar's comments on Jose Mesa, and to realize that one day Omar will be in the Hall of Fame, whereas Mesa will always just be a fat punk.
Omar plays the game as if gravity exerts a different force on him than it does for the rest of us. The last player I remember feeling that way about was Garry Maddox, who skimmed across the outfield as though he had a pocket of air underneath his feet. Omar plays the game with an evident sense of joyousness which I haven't seen in a player since Darryl "Hambone" Hamilton played centerfield for the Giants in the '90's. Omar could go 0 for 600, and at times last year it seemed as though that might well happen, and I still would be thrilled to watch him play. Tragically, as of this writing, it looks as though I won't have the chance; the Giants haven't picked up the option on his contract, and it would appear that the position will fall to Emmanuel "the Pride of D.C." Burriss, unless the Giants do something truly stupid and sign Rafael "How Many Errors Can I Make In One Inning Of A Deciding Play-Off Game" Furcal, the Anti-Omar, to succeed Omar. I think it would be great if Omar played a couple of years in the Japanese Leagues; he would be the most popular Gaijin since Lefty O'Doul.
As for this memoir, it is sort of a standard Baseball memoir. Again, pitchers unaccountably seem to write the most compelling autobiographies, or maybe they just hire the best ghostwriters. It was fun to see Omar's comments on Jose Mesa, and to realize that one day Omar will be in the Hall of Fame, whereas Mesa will always just be a fat punk.
December 30, 2018
I read this when it originally came out. It is fun to see all the Cleveland references and relive games that I remember so clearly. I don't need Omar's opinion on absolutely everything but I guess that's part of his character. It would be interesting if he published another book or a continuation about his later career.
April 7, 2023
Fun read for a fan, lots of memories. The ghost writing leaves a little too be desired at some points - done of the anecdotes lack pep or just end, but overall is an interesting view of Omar's life and career thorough early 2000s. Send he was good at most things and continued to develop varied interests outside of baseball.
June 15, 2025
Growing up in Cleveland I had season passes to the Indian’s games. I would specifically go to watch Omar Vizquel play. He made amazing catches and was always entertaining. He helped me fall in love with the sport and definitely the short stop position. Through his book I was able to learn about his past and how he worked his way up into the majors. Good read for any baseball fan
December 28, 2019
Great insights into Vizquel's career in the 1990s.
April 14, 2020
Good flashback to some 90s memories by the Tribe.
August 14, 2011
Omar Vizquel played shortstop for the resurgent Cleveland Indians from 1994 until 2004. (This co-written autobiography was written in 2002.) He had won an American League record 9 consecutive Golden Gloves (for fielding) when the book was published, and went on to win 2 more in the NL with SF. He was my favorite player for the Indians during that era. He is still playing as a back-up, at age 44 (he is the oldest position-player in the league), and I continue to like him even though he doesn't play for Cleveland.
Only Ozzie Smith rivals him for best fielding shortstop of all time. Smith is in the Hall of Fame, but there is discussion whether Omar will get in--an indication of the offensive bias of the HoF. His main problem is that he played during an era of good-fielding SS's with great offense: Cal Ripkin, Jeter, A-Rod, and Nomar in the AL. The result is that Omar was only in 3 all-star games, never as a starter. He could not be pegged as the best SS of his era. Ozzie, on the other hand, played mostly in the '80's when the NL had no offensively strong SS's. He won 13 consecutive Golden Gloves and played in 15 all-star games. While Ozzie's offensive numbers are no better than Omar's, Ozzie won the Silver Slugger award for best hitting SS one year in his league! Ozzie was at the end of the era (late '50's through '80's) in which SS's were practically expected to hit poorly. And only recently have there been offensively strong SS's in the NL.
Ozzie also won a World Series, which Omar never has. Cleveland came close in 1995 and 1997. The book has a good account of the 1995 team and season and WS, but there is almost nothing about 1997. Only this: the book opens with the 9th inning of game 7 of the WS when Jose Mesa came in to save a 1-run lead for the Indians. Omar writes: "Unfortunately, Jose's own eyes were vacant. Completely empty. Nobody home. You could almost see right through him." Mesa blew the save, and the Indians lost in the 11th inning. Omar says he was devastated. When the book was published Mesa vowed he would hit Omar with a pitch everytime they met on the field. He in fact did hit him twice over the next 5 years.
It turns out the book was written for 7th grade and up as well as adult, so it is quite high-minded, always looking for a positive lesson or a modern comparison. This doesn't keep him from making some honest negative comments about some other players, such as Albert Belle, Manny Ramirez, and Jose Mesa, but it does keep him from being revelatory. In any case, I read it to relive the heyday of the Indians in my lifetime. On that score, it was OK.
Only Ozzie Smith rivals him for best fielding shortstop of all time. Smith is in the Hall of Fame, but there is discussion whether Omar will get in--an indication of the offensive bias of the HoF. His main problem is that he played during an era of good-fielding SS's with great offense: Cal Ripkin, Jeter, A-Rod, and Nomar in the AL. The result is that Omar was only in 3 all-star games, never as a starter. He could not be pegged as the best SS of his era. Ozzie, on the other hand, played mostly in the '80's when the NL had no offensively strong SS's. He won 13 consecutive Golden Gloves and played in 15 all-star games. While Ozzie's offensive numbers are no better than Omar's, Ozzie won the Silver Slugger award for best hitting SS one year in his league! Ozzie was at the end of the era (late '50's through '80's) in which SS's were practically expected to hit poorly. And only recently have there been offensively strong SS's in the NL.
Ozzie also won a World Series, which Omar never has. Cleveland came close in 1995 and 1997. The book has a good account of the 1995 team and season and WS, but there is almost nothing about 1997. Only this: the book opens with the 9th inning of game 7 of the WS when Jose Mesa came in to save a 1-run lead for the Indians. Omar writes: "Unfortunately, Jose's own eyes were vacant. Completely empty. Nobody home. You could almost see right through him." Mesa blew the save, and the Indians lost in the 11th inning. Omar says he was devastated. When the book was published Mesa vowed he would hit Omar with a pitch everytime they met on the field. He in fact did hit him twice over the next 5 years.
It turns out the book was written for 7th grade and up as well as adult, so it is quite high-minded, always looking for a positive lesson or a modern comparison. This doesn't keep him from making some honest negative comments about some other players, such as Albert Belle, Manny Ramirez, and Jose Mesa, but it does keep him from being revelatory. In any case, I read it to relive the heyday of the Indians in my lifetime. On that score, it was OK.
May 15, 2009
Omar was one of my favorite players when he played with the Indians so I decided to give this book a read. It is a great book and he takes you through his life and how he became a star in baseball. I loved reading about the power house teams of the Indians from the 90's and getting his inside on the teams.
January 10, 2012
"The fastest way to ruin your good name is to associate it with an inferior product"
-Omar Vizquel
-Omar Vizquel
September 12, 2013
good insight to the best indian teams ive ever watched
May 4, 2016
An enjoyable story of one of the two best shortstops in Cleveland Indians history.
Omar has a great sense of humor as he talks about himself and his career.
Omar has a great sense of humor as he talks about himself and his career.
February 11, 2015
Not a bad book, but it didn't reveal any earth-shattering tidbits.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews