OUTSTANDING IN HIS FIELD.(Cleveland Indians shortstop Omar Vizquel)

With His Glove, Omar Vizquel Ranks Among the Best

Cleveland shortstop has won eight straight Gold Gloves for his excellence on defense

ALEX RODRIGUEZ HAS HIS ULTIMATE Omar Vizquel moment. Everyone does. A-Rod hit a bullet --"the hardest ball I ever hit"--and looked up to see Omar spear it.

"It made him fall on his butt," Rodriguez recalled, shaking his head. "Somehow, he got the ball to (Roberto) Alomar for the double play."

In the Cleveland clubhouse, Vizquel laughs when the story is told. He remembers it well, instantly pulling out the tape from his internal highlight reel. "You could see Alex's expression after we turned the double play," he said. "lt was like, `How the hell did he stop that?'"

Vizquel loves it when that happens, and it happens frequently. Ask Cleveland pitcher Dave Burba, who first saw Vizquel's artistry when the two were teammates--and roommates--in Calgary, the Mariners' Class AAA affiliate, and now is the beneficiary of a gem or two each outing.

"My favorite? I guess it's seeing him every day," Burba said. "To watch him make a play that seems impossible, to spin and throw and get the guy, is truly amazing. If anything, he's improving over the years."