One of my friends got irritated when I wrote one of my previous "beisbol" posts. Not only is he a Yankee fan, but he is also a Derek Jeter fan. He was angry that I had him believe I was posting a story about the Angels vs. Yankees when in fact I was writing about great baseball shortstops: Venezuelan shortstops in general and a Colombian shortstop in particular. Without caring much for the meaning of the word, my friend sent me an email ridiculing my "diatribe"; he wrote a vitriolic one.

It is November, the NFL, NHL and NBA started weeks ago and I don't care! I am still thinking about baseball. Why? The Playoffs and World Series were exciting but somewhat unsatisfying. The White Sox made it look easy. We should have been watching baseball until the weekend before Halloween. How can I get the 2005 Baseball season out of my head? I can revisit my post and see if my prediction was right and maybe have my friend understand what I was talking about.

Derek Jeter did win the American League shortstop Gold Glove. I knew that but I thought the award should have gone to Orlando Cabrera who had the better fielding numbers. Obviously fielding stats are not enough to win a Gold Glove and in my opinion that is all that should count, especially for the shortstop position. Orlando Cabrera was the better pick, he has the defensive numbers and although he does not have the offensive numbers of Derek Jeter, he can rise to the occasion as he demonstrated during the ALCS between the Angels and the Yankees. He caught my attention because he is one of only two Colombian players in the Majors and because he would have become the only shortstop to win Gold Gloves in the both the American and the National League.

That was not to be and will never be! That distinction now belongs to one of my favorites shortstops and baseball players: Omar Vizquel. If you ever saw him play for the Indians and you witnessed the athleticism of his signature bare-handed double-plays, he has to be one of your favorite shortstops too. He learned to do that in his childhood, playing beisbol in the mean, beat-up back-lots of Caracas that have served as the "Field of Dreams" of several generations of Venezuelan kids. He has become an accomplished professional baseball player but he is also a humanitarian who is involved in many charitable causes in the US as well as hands-on relief efforts in his native Venezuela. He is a painter and has even tried his hand at singing with the main purpose of benefiting charities.

He is humble in his accomplishments and when asked about his chances of being inducted into Cooperstown, he questions the possibility because of his offensive numbers, which are fairly decent for a shortstop. At the age of 38 he has not only become the only shortstop to ever win Gold Gloves in both leagues but also the oldest shortstop to ever win a Gold Glove; This is his tenth which ranks him in second place in the list for most Gold Gloves by a shortstop, just below "The Wizard of Oz" Ozzie Smith. He moves ahead of Luis Aparicio, his childhood idol and is one of several excellent Venezuelan shortstops who were all inspired by the great Alfonso "Chico" Carrasquel. Talk about coming full circle!

I hope my friend understands what I am talking about. I wanted to close that loop!

Labels: baseball, sport