There was an article in today’s San Francisco Chronicle about Vizquel’s chances of going into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot. For me, there is no debate. He deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. His fielding is immaculate — he’s won 11 Gold Gloves and has a lifetime .984 fielding percentage. He’s pretty good with a bat, too — a lifetime .274 average and more than 2,600 hits. (Stats from baseball-reference.com)

Those are first ballot statistics, if you ask me. Plus, he’s an absolute pleasure to watch play. If you want to learn how to play shortstop, watch him.  He should go in the Hall on the first ballot, and he should go in as a San Francisco Giant.