June 18th, 2009 03:00am
Omar matches Little Louie
by OldSchool
Omar Vizquel matched Luis Aparacio with his 2,677th hit Wednesday night — the most by a player from Venezuela. Just how good was Aparicio?
Aparicio led the American League in stolen bases for nine consecutive seasons, 1956-64, with a career-high 57 in 1964 with the Baltimore Orioles.
He was also a nine-time Gold Glove winner, with the White Sox and Orioles.
He was the sparkplug on the 1959 pennant winning White Sox, and batted .308 in the World Series. He was also the sparkplug on the World Series champion Orioles in 1966.
With the White Sox in the 1950s, the double-play combo of Aparicio and Nellie Fox was the best in baseball.
Some day, Vizquel will be in the Hall of Fame along with fellow Venezuelan Aparicio.
Robert Rubino has been a daily copy editor for nearly 30 years and a weekly sports columnist for 15 years. 
Submit Your Comments