By Kelsey O’Donnell —
Longtime Cincinnati Reds shortstop Barry Larkin was inducted into the American Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown on January 9, 2012.
Larkin notched 86.4 percent of the votes by the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA). There are 573 ballots all together. It was Larkin’s third year of eligibility.
Edgar Martinez collected 36.5 percent of the voting.
“I think me being here is a culmination of a lot of things,” said Larkin in a press conference to announce his election. “The product of the incredible support that I’ve had my entire life starting with my parents at home, of course my wife and kids, my friends and families, people within the organization, Reds fans, I can’t wait to see in July how much red is going to be in Cooperstown.”
Larkin was brought up to the big leagues as a rookie in 1986 and by 1988 he was a star player. In that season he led all of Major League Baseball in strikeouts by being sent back to the dugout only 24 in 588 at bats.
His most notable year was in 1990 when he carried the Reds to a World Series victory by batting .358 and sweeping the Oakland Athletics in four games.
On June 26-27, 1991 Larkin became the first shortstop in MLB history to hit five home runs in two consecutive games.
In 1995 Larkin was honored with the Most Valuable Player award for the National League. That year he batted .319 and was second in stolen bases (51).
Larkin hit his career high in home runs (33) in 1996 and was named the Reds’ captain before the 1997 season. The New York Mets attempted a blockbuster trade for Larkin in 2000, but he blocked it to remain with the Reds.
Larkin made the decision to retire in 2004. The Reds have not issued a player his number 11 since his retirement.
“I described myself as the ameba man, taking different forms and shapes, doing whatever it was I needed to do to help the team, “ said Larkin of his play on the field. “I was asked to bring different faces of getting on base, get the runner over, drive the guy in and that was pretty prevalent my entire career.”
“He’s told me to respect the game, to treat the game with respect, to respect every ground ball,” said Los Angeles Dodgers’ short stop Dee Gordon.
Larkin worked as a baseball analyst on Baseball Tonight during the 2011 season. He received a great ovation from fans when he worked during a Reds game where fans were chanting “Barry Larkin!” and “Hall of Fame!”.
Larkin will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown in July. He will be the 7th Red and 24th shortstop to be inducted.
“This is going to be an incredible experience and I certainly plan on enjoying the ride,” said Larkin.