Former Cleveland Indians star shortstop and prospective Hall of Fame candidate Omar Vizquel has been accused of domestic abuse by his wife.
Omar Vizquel under investigation for allegations of domestic abuse.
"He's not the person you see."
w/ @Ken_Rosenthal: https://t.co/MZ0PGk4fjW
— Katie Strang (@KatieJStrang) December 16, 2020
According to a report from The Athletic, Blanca Vizquel is alleging multiple violent instances of physical abuse from her husband.
She is claiming that instances occurred at three different times over the last 10 years.
The first was in 2011, prior to the couple’s marriage in 2014.
Then, the second was in 2016.
The third alleged instance happened this August as she decided to begin the divorce process.
Vizquel is currently denying his wife’s allegations.
“I don’t have anything to say,” Vizquel said in response. “This is a divorce and I know she’s really pissed off. There is a lot of things (being said) out there about things supposedly happening behind closed doors, you know. I don’t have anything to say about that, either. It’s just a divorce.”
Major League Baseball has launched an investigation into Vizquel as a result of these claims.
While they are looking into the domestic violence accusation, they are also investigating at a 2019 clubhouse incident.
This occurred while Vizquel was the manager of the Chicago White Sox Double-A affiliate.
“We are aware of the allegations and will continue to look into them,” MLB said to The Athletic.
While Vizquel is denying the allegations, there is a track record that doesn’t favor the former shortstop.
History of Possible Domestic Abuse From Vizquel
However, this isn’t the first time Blanca made a public accusation against her husband.
Her first came during an Instagram live video this October.
Beyond that, Vizquel was detained after a 2016 incident.
This resulted in Blanca suffering an injury to her shin and broken fingernails.
Vizquel was brought to jail on fourth-degree domestic assault charges that were later dropped.
The Athletic report also describes an incident in December 2011 at Blanca’s sister’s house.
In a witness statement, the sister wrote:
“We saw him on top of her, his elbow on her throat, her arms pin (sic) down on bed, she was screaming, telling him to let me go,” according to The Athletic.
However, all charges were dismissed after an agreement from both sides.
Investigations into these allegations are still ongoing.
Impacting Vizquel’s Hall of Fame Case
Omar Vizquel was an interesting Hall of Fame candidate before this incident.
Over a staggering 24-year MLB career, Vizquel totaled 2,877 hits with 404 stolen bases and a .272 career batting average.
Omar Vizquel won (11) Gold Gloves, was a 3x All-Star, and produced 2877 Hits. Among the most consistently productive to have played the position pic.twitter.com/J2JGxQ2fKo
— CirclinTheBases (@CirclinTheBases) December 15, 2020
Among players who spent a majority of their careers at shortstop, he ranks fifth in career hits.
However, his defense is what stands out.
For many, Vizquel was the defensive successor to Ozzie Smith.
He took home 11 Gold Gloves, which is second to just Smith’s 13.
Since his first year of candidacy on the ballot, he has steadily climbed in the rankings.
To be elected to the Hall of Fame, a player must earn 75% of votes.
In the most recent cycle, Vizquel ended with 52.6% in just his third year on the ballot.
Now, however, the domestic violence accusation may throw an interesting turn into his candidacy.
How with the baseball writers view this development, especially as many take the player’s character into consideration?
While the investigation is still ongoing, it will be interesting to see how this may impact Vizquel’s legacy as he pushes for a spot in the Hall of Fame.
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