Omar Vizquel has been accused of domestic abuse by his wife, Blanca, who alleges multiple cases of physical violence by the former star shortstop according to a report published by my party on The Athletic portal.
Blanca Vizquel told The Athletic that her husband physically abused her in 2011, before marrying in 2014, and in 2016. She also described a heated discussion with her husband last August, when he decide to leave and start the divorce process.
An Omar Vizquel lawyer told The Athletic that Vizquel “categorically denies any allegations of domestic violence.”
Vizquel, when asked about his wife’s allegations of violence, told The Athletic: “I have nothing to say. This is a divorce and I know she is really angry. There are many things (that are said) “Things that are supposed to happen behind closed doors, you know. I don’t have anything to say about that either. It’s just a divorce.”
Vizquel, 53, is also looking under investigation for Major League Baseball, who interviewed Blanca and is also investigating an incident at the 2019 clubhouse when Omar was the manager of the Chicago White Sox’s Double-A subsidiary in Birmingham. Barons, according to Athletic.
“While Omar Vizquel has not been employed by a Major League organization for some time, we are aware of the allegations and will continue to investigate,” MLB said in a statement to The Athletic.
Blanca Vizquel’s first public allegation of domestic abuse comes on October 7 in a live Instagram video. Omar denied hitting Blanca at the time, saying his wife decided to leave and the couple was in the process of divorcing.
Omar Vizquel was placed in official custody in 2016 following an incident at the couple’s home in the Seattle area of Sammamish, Washington, according to The Athletic. Blanca Vizquel told police that her husband pushed her during an argument, causing her to fall and suffer a shin injury and multiple broken nails.
Blanca Vizquel, now 36, called a neighbor, who notified the King County Sheriff’s Office. Omar Vizquel was booked for a fourth-degree domestic assault and taken to jail, but Blanca Vizquel later asked the Sammamish prosecutor to drop the charges against her husband, according to The Athletic.
In a letter to the prosecutor, Bianca Vizquel denied the official record of the alleged incident and said she resolved her marital problems with her husband. However, she told The Athletic that Omar Vizquel forced her to sign the letter and threatened her with financial compensation.
In an interview with Venezuelan news media La Patilla, Omar Vizquel denied that he had forced Blanca to sign that letter.
Athletic also described an incident in December 2011, when Omar Vizquel allegedly strangled his wife during an argument at Blanca’s sister’s house in Alabama.
Blanca Vizquel’s sister, Nelly Metler, wrote in a witness statement that: “We saw him on top of her, with his elbow in his throat, his arms nailed (sic) to the bed, she was screaming, telling him to let her go. “, according to Athletic.
Omar Vizquel called police and accused his wife of scratching him, which she denied, telling The Athletic that her husband “was obviously stronger, stronger than me, trying to get rid of him.”
Omar and Blanca Vizquel signed affidavits acknowledging that “we lost control of ourselves, which resulted in physical contact between us.” They both said they did not want the incident to lead to criminal charges, according to The Athletic.
The couple eventually filed a joint motion to dismiss any charges arising from the incident, according to The Athletic, and the motion was granted.
Blanca Vizquel told The Athletic that the August 2020 incident was a heated discussion but without indicating that Omar physically abused her. He said that “he made the decision to leave home and will not return. He did not want to feel this feeling in which you do not know if you would be saved.”
Omar Vizquel was a three-time All-Star and 11-time Golden Glove winner during his 24-year senior career with the Mariners, Indians, Giants, Rangers, White Sox and Blue Jays from 1989 to 2012. He is currently in the ballot for the Hall of Fame.