The idea that Omar Vizquel would be in danger of falling off the MLB Hall of Fame ballot was laughable not that long ago. The former Cleveland Guardians (Indians) shortstop had seen his support for induction steadily increase over his first three years on the ballot, reaching 52.6% in 2020. It seemed as though he would eventually find his way to Cooperstown.
But Vizquel began losing support last year. He only received 49.1% of the vote after allegations of domestic violence arose. Even then, that seemed like a minor blip on the radar and that he would find those votes in the coming years.
Former Cleveland Guardians shortstop Omar Vizquel not guaranteed another year on ballot
Then came the lawsuit alleging that Vizquel sexually harassed a handicapped batboy during his time as a minor league manager. That has caused his support to plummet drastically, as he has lost 42 votes already, per Ryan Thibodaux’s Baseball Hall of Fame vote tracker. Only 14 voters have checked the box next to Vizquel’s name thus far, a number that may not increase all that much as ballots come in.
This leaves Vizquel in a very interesting spot. With approximately 400 ballots, he would need to receive 20 votes in order to get another year. Six more voters need to give him their support for induction. Otherwise, he will fall off the ballot entirely.
As it is, Vizquel has the ignoble honor of losing the most votes in any election cycle. He is only going to lose more votes as the results are announced and is unlikely to gain any votes in the wake of his off the diamond behavior. But will enough voters leave him off the ballot for him to fall below 5%?
Chances are, that will not happen. Nothing that occurs now will have any bearing on this year’s ballots, even if more allegations about Vizquel come forth. That would, however, impact his chances for 2023 if he remains on the ballot.
Former Cleveland Guardians shortstop Omar Vizquel is losing votes at a record pace. It may be close, but he will be on the ballot for 2023.