Longtime MLB shortstop and former Detroit Tigers first base coach Omar Vizquel is under investigation for alleged domestic abuse against his wife, Blanca.
Blanca told Katie Strang and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic she has been the victim of physical abuse from Vizquel for years.
One of the first incidents allegedly occurred in January of 2016, when Vizquel was led out of the couple’s home in handcuffs.
The pattern reportedly continued for years, and Blanca left Omar in August before filing for divorce this fall, per The Athletic:
For years, Blanca remained mostly quiet about the abuse she endured. But in August, after six years of marriage and after what she described as one last volatile interaction with Omar, she fled their home in Arizona, spent time in a women’s shelter and then, less than a week later, initiated divorce proceedings. In an Instagram live video posted on Oct. 7, she announced in Spanish that “no one deserves to have violence against them.”
Vizquel has denied the allegations in interviews. Nevertheless, Major League Baseball is investigating the 11-time Gold Glover for the purported abuse and other allegations stemming from previous employment with MLB.
The league has spoken with Blanca, and is also probing an incident involving Vizquel when he was managing the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox:
The incident, which involved a male team employee, led to Vizquel being dismissed as manager of the team in the month before his one-year contract expired, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the situation. Though Vizquel is not currently employed by an MLB team, any disciplinary action assessed by MLB would follow Vizquel should he seek employment within the league in the future.
Vizquel continues to vehemently deny the allegations against him. His legal team also reportedly sent a document to The Athletic detailing a “smear campaign,” though the conclusion is confusing since it correlates everything with Omar Vizquel being a finalist for the Hall of Fame.
Of course, this is a tremendously serious matter. Major League Baseball will deploy its resources to get to the bottom of the allegations.
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