Venezuela is a country with long history of sport. Along with traditional sports, Venezuela is thoroughly captivted by baseball so it is no wonder that most of the sporting greats come from this sport. Venezuelan baseball league is very exciting for both the skills shown on the field and by the number of crazy fans which show up on stadiums. Many Venezuelans play in the American MLB (currently around 250 players) and many players move to USA before the age of 20. Except baseball, boxing is renowned in Venezuela for producing some of the biggest sport stars and Venezuelan boxers have so far won 5 Olympic medals in this sport. Some of the most famous baseball stars from Venezuela are Bobby Abreu, Miguel Cabrera, Alex Carrasquel (first Venezuelan who played in the MLB in 1939), Johan Santana, Carlos Zambrano Tony Armas and Magglio Ordónez. Carl Herrera (former NBA basketball player), Milka Duno female race car driver, Yaxeni Oriquen female bodybuilder, Cesar Baena cross country skier only Venezuela biathlon athlete are the most popular athletes outside baseball. Ozzie Guillén, a Venezuelan, former baseball player and the current manager of Chicago White Sox is the first Hispanic manager whose team has won the World Series (in 2005).
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| The bronze statue of Luis Aparicio in front of US Cellular Field in Chicago, home stadium of Chicago White Sox |
Luis Ernesto Aparicio Montiel (b.1934) is the most famous Venezuelan baseball player of all times. His career in the MLB in the USA spanned for 3 decades and he is the first Venezuelan who became a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame (a museum in the USA which honors the history of baseball and the best baseball players). During his career in the MLB, Luis Aparicio played for three teams: Chicago White Sox (1956-1962, 1968-1970), Baltimore Orioles (1963-1967) and Boston Red Sox (1971-1973). Luis Aparicio was born on 29 April 1934 in the city of Maracaibo in Zulia state, which is the second largest city in Venezuela after Caracas. Maracaibo is represented in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League by Águilas del Zulia (The Eagles of Zulia), one of the most popular baseball teams in the country which have won the National Baseball Championship five times since they were founded in 1969. Luis Aparicio was born in a baseball family since his father played for the city team. Since many players from Venezuela play in the American Major and Minor League Baseball, Venezuelan teams have strong connections with baseball teams from the USA. At the age of 22, Luis Aparicio was signed to play for Chicago White Sox by the MLB team's general manager who followed the advice of Chico Carrasquel, another famous Venezuelan in the MLB. During his years in the MLB, Luis Aparicio was known as Little Looie. Luis Aparicio debuted in the MLB for Chicago White Sox in 1956 and managed to win the title Rookie of the Year (a baseball award for the most outstanding new player in the MLB) and The Sporting News Rookie of the Year (Sporting News are a sports magazine in the USA, which is the most famous for their covering of baseball). In the next seven years, the game of Chicago White Sox was unimaginable without Luis Aparicio as a shortstop. Shortstop is a defensive position between second and the third base on the baseball diamond, regarded to be the most dynamic position in defense since most thrown balls go to the shortstop than to any other position). During his career with the Chicago White Sox, Luis Aparicio was five times selected into the All-Star selection (another two times while playing for Baltimore Orioles and also twice as a member of Boston Red Sox). In addition to that, Luis Aparicio became a World Series Champion in 1966, as a member of Baltimore Orioles.
After putting on some weight and playing below his possibilities in the 1962 season, the management of Chicago White Sox decided to lend him to Baltimore Orioles. During his time with them, Luis Aparicio got back in shape and regained his place as an indispensable part of the team. His dedication to baseball and Baltimore Orioles became evident when he won the World Series Championship with them. Soon after that, he was transferred back to the Chicago White Sox, where he played for two more seasons. After that, he was signed by Boston Red Sox where he successfully played for three season before retiring in 1973, at the age of 39. During his 17 years in the MLB, Luis Aparicio was won the Gold Glove Award nine times. This award is given by the baseball managers and coaches in the MLB for 'the superior individual fielding performance' for each of nine positions on the baseball diamond. In 1973, when Luis Aparicio decided to retire, he already amassed a couple of baseball records. He played 2583 games in 16 straight seasons in which he had more than 500 plate appearances, and this is the fifth best score in MLB history. By 1973, he was the all time best baseball player for most games played , assists and double plays by a shortstop. In 2006, bronze sculptures of Luis Aparicio and his fellow player Nellie Fox were erected on the grounds of US Cellular Field (baseball stadium in Chicago which is the home of the Chicago White Sox). Luis Aparicio is still the only Venezuelan in the Baseball Hall of Fame, where he was included in 1984 with almost 85% of votes. He is also the member of Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum, established in 1999, which honors the Hispanic players. Luis Aparicio is also listed as one of the best 100 baseball players in the 20th century. In many towns of Venezuela, there are schools and streets bearing his name. In his hometown of Maracaibo, the central sports stadium is named after his father, Estadio Luis Aparicio El Grande (Stadium Luis Aparicio the Great) and the entire sports complex is called after him, Polideportivo Luis Aparicio Montiel.
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| Omar Vizquel is one of the most successful players from Venezuela in the MLB |
Omar Enrique Vizquel Gonzalez (b.1967) is one of the most famous active Venezuelan players in the MLB. Since 2007, he holds the highest fielding percentage (.984) for a shortstop in the Major League Baseball history. Another of his records is the number of games played as a shortstop, which means he surpassed his idol, Luis Aparicio. During his career, Omar Vizquel has played for three MLB teams: Seattle Mariners (1989-1993, Cleveland Indians 1994-2004 and San Francisco giants 2005-2008). He is currently a free agent for the San Francisco Giants, and at the age of 41 does not plan to retire. However, it is very possible that he will retire in the future and most probably become a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame (a museum dedicated to baseball history and the best players). If he does become a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, he will become the second Venezuelan who has received this honor, after Luis Aparicio, although the number of Venezuelans who have played in MLB is close to 250.
Omar Vizquel debuted in the MLB in 1989 for Seattle Mariners, after moving from Caracas as a 22 year-old. He immediately became known for his exceptional skills in defense game, although he did not show noticeable results in hitting. During his time with the Seattle Mariners, Vizquel was known as a good defense player who was successfully contributing to his team's victories. In 1994, following a Mariners management decision, Vizquel was transferred to Cleveland Indians. During his decade with the Indians, Vizquel became one of their best players. He won the Gold Glove Award nine consecutive times (1993-2001), something which has never happened before. Together with his teammate, second baseman, Roberto Alomar, he was recognized as the best defense duo in the MLB and they together won three Gold Glove Awards for three consecutive years (1999-2001), Vizquel as a shortstop and Almoar as a second baseman. In addition to that, Vizquel also won two more Gold Glove Awards in 2005 and 2006. He was also named as a member of All Star team three times: in 1998, 1999 and again in 2002. Together with the Cleveland Indians, Vizquel twice played in the World Series Finale, but his team has unfortunately lost by Atlanta Braves in 1995 and again in 1997 by Florida Marlins. In the latest few years, baseball fans have been entertained by Vizquel's feud with another baseball player, and his former teammate from Cleveland Indians, José Mesa. In 2002, Omar Vizquel wrote and autobiography Omar! My Life On and Off the Field, with Bob Dyer as co-author. The book spent four weeks in New York Times Best Seller List and brought further wealth and recognition to Omar Vizquel. He said he contemplates writing another book when he retires.
In his book, he recounts his perspective of 1997 loss of World Series Championship by Florida Marlins, in which he directly blames his teammate José Mesa for the loss of Championship. He says that Mesa's lack of attention during the deciding pitching. His words have deeply offended José Mesa. In his TV interviews he said that he would get back at Vizquel and that he would hit him in every chance he would get. So far, Vizquel and Mesa have met two times when their baseball teams were playing against each other. In 2002, Mesa was pitching and Vizquel was playing defense. Mesa walked across the field and hit Vizquel in the back. Vizquel was not injured but Mesa's violence had an impact on both their teammates and managers, of which several were ejected from the field. In 2006, Mesa hit him again during a game, and since then they have not met on the field. Vizquel refuses to apologize to Mesa for offending him in the book, and Mesa said that no apology is necessary since it would mean nothing. Off the field, Vizquel is known as a renaissance man. He plays the guitar and the drums and he is a reasonably good singer and dancer. He is an avid art collector and he can also paint and sculpt and he says he likes designing clothes. He is an active participant in many charities in the USA and in Venezuela as well. After the disastrous mud slide in Vargas in 1999, Vizquel helped raise 500,000 $. He also lends his name to support many arts education organization and the caregivers for the handicapped children and adults. Omar Vizquel is married with two children (a son and an adopted daughter) and his wife is an offspring of Chief Seattle, Indian chief after whom the city of Seattle was named after. Among his many records and recognitions, he became a member of Hispanic Hall of Fame in 2007, and this honor was announced to him in front of 43,000 fans before a game with New York Yankees.
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| Boxing remains one of the most successful sports in Venezuela |
Betulio Segundo González (b. 1949) is considered to be the greatest boxing champion in Venezuela's history. During his career he fought 91 boxing matches and his career score is 91 matches, 76 wins (48 by knockout), 12 losses and 3 draws. Betulio González debuted in the boxing world in 1968 in his hometown of Maracaibo in Zulia state. During that same year he successfully debuted in a fight in Caracas, Venezuela's capital known for the long tradition of boxing. During his first year as a professional boxer, Betulio González won all 10 matches he fought, which is a remarkable boxing score. On 10 October 1969, he won the Venezuelan Flyweight Title in a fight against much more famous Hector Criollo. Betulio González won by knockout in the seventh round and in only two years of career, he became the country's champion. On 1 April 1971, Betulio González went to Japan to fight in a match for WBA World Flyweight title. After 15 rounds, his opponent Masao Ohba won the title by unanimous decision of the judges so Betulio González was defeated in his first try for the world title. After a number of boxing matches where he successfully knocked out his opponents, Betulio González decided to fight for the World Champion title again against Erbito Salvarria, a former world champion, on 20 November 1971. After 15 rounds, the judges' decision was inconclusive. The Boxing Commission of the Zulia state argued that Salvarria has taken sugar or illegal drugs during breaks in the fight they brought a medicine bottle as evidence. The World Boxing Commission wanted to declare Betulio González as the World Champion but to their surprise, he refused.
Betulio González is the only Venezuelan who has won a WBC World Flyweight Championship. He has become the world championship three times and has successfully defended the title five times.
Since the World Champion title was left vacant after their match, Betulio González decided to fight again against Socrates Batoto on 3 June 1972. Betulio González won the World Champion Flyweight title by knocking out his opponent in the fourth round. Only 3 months later, Betulio González was forced to give away the belt he was given by the WBC to his next opponent Venice Borkhorsor, who knocked him out in the tenth round on 29 September 1972. Betulio González did not give up, and after several matches which he won, he challenged Miguel Canto for the world title. González won and became World Flyweight Champion for the second time on 4 August 1973, this time in his hometown of Maracaibo after 15 excruciating rounds. On 17 November 1973 he successfully defended the title against Alberto Morales who challenged him. After that he fought against Franco Udella in Italy on 20 July 1974 and he retained his champion title for the second time. However, on 1 November 1974, he lost the title to Shoji Oguma after 15 rounds in Tokyo. After that Oguma lost his champion belt to Miguel Canto (who Betulio González defeated in 1973 when he became WBA champion for the second time). González challenged Miguel Canto but lost the fight on 24 May 1975 in Mexico.After that, Betulio González won a number of fights and won the Fecarbox regional Flyweight title (Central American Championship of Professional Boxing) on 20 June 1976. On 10 November of 1976, González and Canto met again and Canto beat González for the second time as managed to keep his World Flyweight Champion title. The much anticipated fight was held in Caracas in front of a large number of González's supporters but the Mexican beat González after 15 rounds by judges' decision.
On 12 August 1978, González took another shot at becoming World Flyweight champion. He beat Guty Espadas, Sr. after 15 rounds. The boxing match was later throughly analyzed by the papers, since González was knocked out briefly in the last round, but the referee chose to ignore that. With his triumph over Espadas, Betulio González became the World Flyweight Championship for the third time, which is highly remarkable result.On 4 November 1978, González defended the title against a Chilean national hero, boxer Martin Vargas. On 1 January 1979, his old nemesis, Shoji Oguma challenged his title but González successfully defended his challenge. The same fighter challenged him again on 6 July 1979. However, González's next opponent Luis Ibarra beat him and took the champion's belt from González on 17 November 1979.González continued to work hard and decided to challenge the then World Champion Juan Herrera on 19 December 1981, but he was knocked out in the seventh round. González had a last try at the world title on 14 September 1982 against Santos Luciar, a world renown boxer, but he lost the fight. In 1984, after another loss for the Dedelatin Flyweight title, González announced to his fans that he was retiring, at the age of 35. He shortly returned to the boxing world in 1988 when he fought against Rodolfo Blanco, a Colombian who would become the world champion several years later. Since boxers in Venezuela retire at the age of 40, Betulio González announced that he was retiring from boxing 11 months before the deadline. He continues to be one of the most famous Venezuelan boxers of all times with three titles of World Flyweight Champion (1972, 1973, and in 1978).
