All-Time Top Ten: Venezuela
By Efraín Ruiz Pantin
With all due respect to Luis Aparicio, the only Venezuelan in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, there’s no debate over No. 1 on this All-Time Top 10. Even after a down year in 2017, Miguel Cabrera is the best player to come out of la pequeña Venecia, Little Venice as Venezuela is sometimes called, one of the best hitters of any era.
It’s after Miggy, Louie and Omar Vizquel that the debate gets interesting. And while I ranked them according to their aggregate WAR and Hall of Fame Monitor totals, you could shuffle the last seven players and get few arguments from ¡Fanáticos! For this particular list, I also placed a value on longevity and only ranked players with a minimum of 1,000 games. Which is why I apologize to three-time batting champ José Altuve. But don’t worry. When he is done, he’ll stand right next to Miggy.
1. Miguel Cabrera
.317/.395/.553 — 68.8 WAR — 262 HOF Monitor
Where should we start? Cabrera is an 11-time All-Star, four-time batting champ, two-time MVP and one-time world champion. You prefer metrics? Cabrera is the only slugger to start his career after 1950 and hit .315 and 150 OPS+ with a minimum 1,500 games. He’s a pure hitter with power who plays first base, the sole Triple Crown winner since 1967 and the only Venezuelan voted MVP. Miggy is beloved back home, the all-time leader in his country in home runs, batting average, slugging, OPS, extra-base hits and total bases. Do you need more?
2. Luis Aparicio
.262/.311/.343 — 55.7 WAR — 150 HOF Monitor
Being in the HOF is enough to justify Aparicio’s ranking. It took a player of Miggy’s stature to knock him off the top pedestal. Aparicio was a defensive whiz, a 13-time All-Star who earned nine Gold Gloves at shortstop. His speed took his offense to another level and revolutionized the game. Leading the league in steals nine straight seasons is a record that still stands. Not only did Aparicio swipe 506 bases at a 79-percent clip, he took countless extra bases on inattentive fielders. Little Louie was a giant in many ways.
3. Omar Vizquel
.272/.336/.352 — 45.3 WAR — 120 HOF Monitor
Aparicio begat David Concepción, who begat Vizquel and others in between. Vizquel was an artist on the diamond and remains one off the field, painting oils and playing in a band. While Aparicio totaled more assists and putouts in six fewer seasons, Vizquel won 11 Gold Gloves and committed half the errors totaled by Aparicio. Vizquel’s career batting totals are higher — mainly because he played longer and during a home run era. The difference between the two is simply speed. Aparicio was a game-changer.
4. Bobby Abreu
.291/.395/.475 — 59.9 WAR — 94 HOF Monitor
Abreu is underrated, the most complete pelotero to come out of Venezuela. He could beat you any which way, one of six players in history — along with Joe Morgan, Rickey Henderson, Bobby Bonds, Barry Bonds and Craig Biggio — to reach 400 stolen bases and 250 home runs in his career. Abreu led the National League in doubles one year and in triples another. He totaled eight seasons of 100 or more RBI. His .395 OBP is tied with Cabrera for the highest among Venezuelan major leaguers and he also leads his countrymen with 1,453 runs. And, yes, his full name is Bob Kelly Abreu, not Bobby.
5. Magglio Ordóñez
.309/.369/.502 — 38.5 WAR — 114 HOF Monitor
One of the better pure hitters on this list, Ordóñez put on one of the best seasons in the Detroit Tigers’ history when he won the AL batting title and finished second in the MVP voting in 2007. That summer, he hit .363/.434/.595 with 54 doubles and 139 RBI. Overall, Ordóñez was a six-time All-Star who hit .300 in 11 of his 15 seasons. And during the years he wore long, curly locks, he was everyone’s heartthrob.
6. David Concepción
.267/.322/.357 — 39.9 WAR — 106 HOF Monitor
While the attention goes deservedly to Morgan, Johnny Bench and Pete Rose as the leading stars of Cincinnati’s Big Red Machine, two indispensable cogs were Cuban first baseman Tony Pérez, the team’s consistent run producer, and Concepción, a smooth and savvy shortstop. A nine-time All-Star who won five Gold Gloves, Concepción used Riverfront Stadium’s hard artificial turf to good advantage, bouncing the ball on long throws to first base from deep in the hole. He was so good that Vizquel wore No. 13 in his honor.
7. Francisco Rodríguez
437 Saves/2.86 ERA/1,142 K — 24.5 WAR — 124 HOF Monitor
K-Rod was a fearless reliever who brought the heat night after night. He set the single-season saves record with 62 in 2008 and three times finished in the Top 4 in the voting for the Cy Young Award. His reputation as a hothead sullies his legacy. But on the mound, he was a six-time All-Star and supreme strikeout artist. His career 10.5 K/9 sets a nearly unreachable bar. Among hurlers with 975 or more career innings, only Randy Johnson, Chris Sale, Stephen Strasburg, Kerry Wood, Max Scherzer and Pedro Martínez can match that average.
8. Andrés Galarraga
.288/.347/.499 — 31.5 WAR — 114 HOF Monitor
Before Miggy, there was Big Cat, a slick-fielding first baseman and feared slugger. Galarraga was an inspirational player on and off the field who took Venezuelan baseball to new levels. He averaged .370 in 1993 to win the NL batting title, hit more than 40 home runs three times and twice led the league in RBI. And after beating back cancer, he came back in 2000 to hit .302 with 28 home runs and 100 RBI. The fact that Galarraga is ranked eighth is testament to how much baseball has improved in Venezuela.
9. Johan Santana
139-78/3.20 ERA/1,988 K — 51.4 WAR — 82 HOF Monitor
Injuries stole part of his career, which at one point seem destined to end in Cooperstown. For five seasons — from 2004 to 2008 — Santana enjoyed a stretch as good as any in history, going 86-39 with a 157 ERA+ while winning two Cy Young Awards and one pitching Triple Crown. While Santana lasted only 12 seasons, he pitched the only no-hitter in Mets’ history. Look at his career this way: Since 1950, only four pitchers surpassed 2,000 innings and retired with a 136 ERA+ or better — Santana, Pedro Martínez, Roger Clemens and Hoyt Wihelm. That’s exalted company.
10. Félix Hernández
160-114/3.20 ERA/2,342 K — 52.4 WAR — 69 HOF Monitor
King Félix is already the all-time Venezuelan leader in wins, innings, shutouts and strikeouts. Playing in Safeco Field for the Seattle Mariners may have cost him wins and post-season appearances. But he’s still a six-time All-Star who has won one Cy Young Award and twice led the American League in ERA. How many Latinos have pitched perfect games? Only two: Dennis Martínez and King Félix. That’s enough to make any list.
Featured Image: Library of Congress
Inset Images: TOPPS