NEW YORK – The name Babe Ruth carries a status, a weight like few others in baseball, which is why there’s something particularly meaningful about surpassing him in the record books.
With a single to right off Andy Pettitte in the fourth inning and an RBI double to right against David Robertson in the eighth inning Wednesday afternoon, Omar Vizquel did precisely that, taking over 41st on the all-time hits list with 2,874, one past the Sultan of Swat.
Fittingly, the veteran Toronto Blue Jays infielder accomplished the feat at Yankee Stadium, across the street from where the original House that Ruth Built once stood, in what ended as a 4-2 loss to AL East leading New York in the opener of a day-night doubleheader.
“When you get a hit to tie one of the best hitters in baseball, it’s just an amazing feeling,” said Vizquel. “This guy has been a legend for the game for a long time and to mention my name right next to his just makes me feel so little. I never ever thought in my career of baseball, which has been a long one, that I was going to come close to compare my hits to the Babe. It’s just unbelievable.”
Vizquel’s single to match Ruth was a line drive to right field batting right-handed that was promptly erased on Adeiny Hechavarria’s fielder’s choice, while he yanked a double just inside the right-field line from the left side to narrow the Yankees lead to 3-2 and put runners on second and third with one out.
Not bad for a player who arrived in the big-leagues in 1989 with questions about his bat. A hat tip goes to Bobby Tolan, a coach in the Seattle Mariners system who in 1988 taught Vizquel to hit left-handed and opened the door to an outstanding offensive career for a middle infielder.
“I was probably hitting left-handed for eight months before I made it to the big-leagues and everyone was wondering if I was going to last long in the big-leagues,” said Vizquel. “I proved them wrong, I worked pretty hard at it, went to Winter Ball and got a lot of games and a lot of at-bats under my belt, came to the next big-league camp and showed some improvement and then obviously glove has helped me stay where I am right now.”
With roughly two weeks remaining before he plans to retire, the utilityman should move past Mel Ott’s 2,876 for sole possession of 40th on the all-time list, but Frankie Frisch’s 2,880 for 39th is most likely out of reach.
If only Tolan had run into Vizquel sooner.
“I thought it was going to be for my benefit but I started a little late,” said Vizquel, with a grin, “if I would have started a little earlier maybe I would have had 3,000 hits.”
Coaches Victor Davalillo and Charlie Manuel, along with former teammates Kenny Lofton, Eddie Murray, and Dave Winfield are others he credited for helping him at the plate.
Vizquel has been collecting various memorabilia as he’s climbed up the various all-time lists, keeping balls from many of his milestone hits, including the two from Wednesday, along with the corresponding bat. The one he used Wednesday also delivered two hits Sunday and is now being put out of circulation.
“I write on it whom did I hit it off, and the situation of the game, those are memories that sometimes we forget and I don’t want to let that go this year, especially when I’m retiring,” he said. “I have about eight balls right now and I have about five bats that have been very special to me and some lineups also.
“The fact that I played shortstop at the age of 45 is very special to me, it shows me a lot of hard work and dedication and I felt very fortunate, very proud of that feat. Let’s see if I can keep collecting things these last couple of weeks.”
There was no storybook ending in Wednesday afternoon’s contest, as after his double made it a one-run game, Hechavarria struck out looking and after Anthony Gose walked to load the bases against closer Rafael Soriano, Rajai Davis hit a liner to left that hung up just long enough for Ichiro Suzuki to slide under.
Nick Swisher’s RBI single in the bottom of the eighth padded New York’s lead and Soriano went three-up, three-down to wrap things up in the ninth.
Among his other milestones, the native of Caracas, Venezuela also ranks second amongst shortstops with nine career Gold Gloves, two behind Ozzie Smith; ranks first among shortstops with 2,708 games played; is the oldest man to ever play the position in the majors at 45; is fifth all-time in assists with 8,042; is 15th all-time with 10,574 at-bats and 78th with 1,444 runs scored.
Vizquel insists he’s ready for retirement – the only thing that might sway him is a guaranteed contract with a 25-man roster spot, though he’s not looking for one – but knows it will be difficult to walk away. He remembers how during his farewell tour of Venezuela’s Winter Ball league, he “choked up, I couldn’t talk, there were tears going down my face.”
The finality of it all will only hit him once the Blue Jays and Minnesota Twins wrap things up Oct. 3.
“I pretty much have got my mind set up that this is it for me, very few times I change my mind,” he said. “It’s been great, this is the best job a guy can have. This has been so cool, I met so many people, I made some great friends, very few enemies, when that happens and you can leave this game with the chest really high, it’s a really special moment.”
