Customer Reviews

Omar!: My Life On and Off the Field

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Omar Vizquel is one of the greatest shortstops to ever play the game. Often overshadowed by Jeter, ARod, and Garciaparra, he makes the barehand play look routine and turns a double play better than any of them. This book gives you the insiders view of Game Seven of the World Series and the come-from-behind Seattle game (down 12 runs in the 7th). It was also cool to read about what the players do off the field. If want great stories about baseball and the greatest shortstop playing the game, then this is the book for you...

I love Omar - and reading this book made me love him even more! It's a fun book to read because it's filled with great Omar stories, all written in a very "conversational" tone. The co-author is Bob Dyer, a local newspaper columnist, who I have long thought to be a terrific writer. You will love this book! (His new video is great, too!)

It is unfortunate that this entire book has become enmeshed in the Belle controversy - Omar mentions the corked bats only briefly, in an effort to tell about the personalities of his teammates. The whole book is more of an uplifting, sometimes humorous, story of a guy from Venezuela who came to the US without a word of English, who worked hard to become the best-fielding shortstop in baseball history.

Omar's storytelling is as straightforward as his glovework. He's not a great writer, certainly. But the honesty and candor that have sometimes won him the enmity of his teammates (including, obviously, Belle) work for the reader here. It's an easy read - not great literature, but enjoyable for an afternoon...

Omar! My Life On And Off The Field is the autobiography of Omar Vizquel, one of the best defensive shortstops in baseball and a crucial member the Cleveland Indian team. Vizquel has earned nine consecutive Rawlings Gold Glove Awards and holds the highest career fielding percentage of anyone in his post. In this autobiography, written with the assistance of Bob Dyer, Vizquel relates in his own words the story of his life beginning with his childhood in Venezuela down to playing in Game Seven of the World Series. Omar! offers a superb glimpse into the life of a master sports player and is highly recommended reading for baseball fans everywhere.

Omar Vizquel golden glove seemed to have seeped through to his golden hand which wrote a golden book about a golden guy! The book unveiled Omar Vizquel's quaint baseball life and talked about things he sees and perceives from the Cleveland Indians' dugout. Although the book isn't an award-winning, suspense-driven novel, Omar really shows you the world through his eyes. I recommend this book for any die-hard Indians fan. If you aren't an Indians fan, or if you are a fan of money-crazed people like Mr. Albert, I suggest you stay away from this book... otherwise.. Omar's five stars in my eyes! I love you O!!

Omar has continued his fantastic career from Seattle to Cleveland...I plan to ask him to sign it, then will present it to Seattle pitcher Arthur Rhodes and see his reaction.

This is book is an informative, insightful and funny look into the life of one of the game's greatest. Omar also provides behind-the-scenes look at the Cleveland Indians. He goes all the way back to his childhood and tracks his way through the minor and major leagues. This book has caused controversy with former Indians Albert Belle and Jose Mesa, but I feel that they overreacted. The controversy does not put a damper on a great book! A must for any baseball fan!

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.

Omar Vizquel has been my favorite player since I first saw him beat out a bunt base hit as a Seattle Mariner when I was fifteen. I've followed his career and enjoyed his play ever since. Unfortunately for Omar Vizquel fans, his enthusiasm for baseball, family, art, music and cultural exchange are lost amidst anecdotes about teammates and endless detail about his many possessions.

Vizquel and the journalist, Bob Dyer have written not so much an autobiography as an expose, as they offer brief tantalizing glimpses into Omar's personal experiences only to immediately move to gossip. For instance, the story of a former teammate's wedding goes on for several paragraphs - his own several sentences; they tell us a former major leaguer was very important in his life - but don't tell us why. It's a shame for readers that the authors' candor did not extend to the supposed subject of "Omar!"

I found this book thoroughly disappointing and a very unsatisfactory read. Let's be thankful we don't have to read his book to watch Omar Vizquel work magic on the baseball diamond.

Ah Omar, you will never get the respect that you truly deserve. The man is one of the all-time greatest professional athletes in my opinion, also a good all-around guy. If you were a Tribe fan back in the golden era of the 90s, you will truly appreciate this book. It's a fun read. Hall of Fame baby!!