Fan favorite Vizquel to be featured guest at annual Captains event

Omar Vizquel will be the headliner when the Lake County County Captains stage the 17th annual Hot Stove Dinner on Feb. 5 at Holiday Inn Mentor.

Vizquel, a Gold Glovewinning shortstop, spent 11 of his 24 major-league seasons with the Indians. From 1994 to 2004, he was a mainstay on Cleveland teams that made six playoff appearances and advanced to the World Series in 1995 and 1997.

The Captains are a fullseason Single-A affiliate of the Indians playing in the Midwest League. During the Captains inaugural season in 2003, Vizquel was recovering from an injury when he appeared in three games for the Captains on a rehab assignment.

Total attendance for that series was 28,921, including a franchise-record 10,253 on Aug. 22, 2003.

A native of Venezuela, Vizquel also played for the Seattle Mariners, San Francisco Giants, Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox and Toronto Blue Jays.

He retired after the 2016 season with a career batting average of .272, 167 home runs, 1,928 RBI, 2,877 hits, 1,445 runs scored, 404 stolen bases and 11 Gold Glove Awards.

Vizquel now is a manager in the minor-league system of the White Sox. Last season, he guided the advanced Single-A WinstonSalem (N.C) Dash to an 8454 finish and a playoff berth in the Carolina League.

The Hot Stove Dinner will begin at 6 p.m. and end at 9 p.m. Ticket sales begin on Dec. 1. Prices are $75 for general admission and $65 for children ages 4-12. The event offers buffet dinner, soft drinks, cash bar, Chinese auction, 50/50 raffle and a question and answer session following dinner.

After the Q&A session, fans will be able to meet Vizquel and get one autograph per person for as long as time permits.

There are 50 VIP packages available for $100. Those packages include admission to a pre-event reception and preferred seating.

Beginning Dec. 1, tickets for the Hot Stove Dinner will be sold at CaptainsBaseball.com or by calling Tim O’Brien at 440-975-8085, ext. 136.