| Barry Larkin | |||||||||||||||
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 Larkin in 2017 | |||||||||||||||
| Shortstop | |||||||||||||||
| Born: (1964-04-28)April 28, 1964 (age 61) Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. | |||||||||||||||
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |||||||||||||||
| MLB debut | |||||||||||||||
| August 13, 1986, for the Cincinnati Reds | |||||||||||||||
| Last MLB appearance | |||||||||||||||
| October 3, 2004, for the Cincinnati Reds | |||||||||||||||
| MLB statistics | |||||||||||||||
| Batting average | .295 | ||||||||||||||
| Hits | 2,340 | ||||||||||||||
| Home runs | 198 | ||||||||||||||
| Runs batted in | 960 | ||||||||||||||
| Stolen bases | 379 | ||||||||||||||
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |||||||||||||||
| Teams | |||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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| Member of the National | |||||||||||||||
 Baseball Hall of Fame | |||||||||||||||
| Induction | 2012 | ||||||||||||||
| Vote | 86.4% (third ballot) | ||||||||||||||
Medals
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Barry Louis Larkin (born April 28, 1964) is an American former professionalbaseballshortstop. As a player he spent his entire 19-yearMajor League Baseball (MLB) career with theCincinnati Reds from 1986 to 2004.
He briefly played in the minor leagues before making his MLB debut in 1986. He quickly won the starting shortstop role for the Reds and enjoyed a long run of strong seasons with the team. Larkin struggled with a string of injuries between 1997 and 2003, limiting his playing time in several seasons.
Larkin retired after the 2004 season and worked in a front-office position for theWashington Nationals for several years until he joinedESPN as a baseball analyst. He served as a coach for the American team in the2009 World Baseball Classic and managed the Brazilian national team for the same event in 2013.
Larkin is considered one of the top players of his era, winning nineSilver Slugger awards, threeGold Glove awards, and the 1995National League Most Valuable Player Award. He was selected to theMajor League All-Star Game twelve times, and was one of the pivotal players on the 1990 Reds'World Series championship team.[1] In2012, Larkin was elected to theNational Baseball Hall of Fame.[2]
Born and raised in theCincinnati suburb ofSilverton, Ohio, and raisedCatholic, Larkin attendedArchbishop Moeller High School.[1]
Larkin accepted a football scholarship to theUniversity of Michigan to play for coachBo Schembechler, but during his freshman year, he decided to play baseball exclusively. He was a two-time All-American and led the Wolverines to berths in twoCollege World Series, in 1983 and 1984, the program's last until 2019. Larkin was also namedBig Ten Player of the Year in 1984 and 1985.[3][4] Larkin's number 16 was retired by the school on May 1, 2010.[2]
Larkin played for theUnited States national team at the1984 Summer Olympics.[5]
Barry Larkin played with theVermont Reds on their team that won the 1985Eastern League Championship and in 1986 was the Rookie of the Year and Triple-A Player of the Year with theDenver Zephyrs.[6] In all, he played only 177 minor league games in his professional career.[7]
After arriving in the majors, Larkin battled fellow prospectKurt Stillwell for the starting shortstop spot before establishing himself as the starter in 1987. In 1988, Larkin led all major leaguers by striking out only 24 times in 588 at-bats.[6] Larkin batted .353 in the1990 World Series to help lead the Reds to a four-game sweep of theOakland Athletics.[6] On June 27–28, 1991, Larkin became the first shortstop ever to hit five home runs over two consecutive games. He earned his fourth consecutiveAll-Star Game selection that season.[1]
After the 1991 season, Larkin questioned the Reds' commitment to winning. He said he was likely to leave the team when his contract expired the next year, but he was encouraged when the Reds acquired pitchersTim Belcher andGreg Swindell in the offseason. In January 1992, the Reds signed him to a five-year, $25.6 million contract. At that time, only four players had larger contracts and Larkin was the highest-paid shortstop.[8] Larkin was not selected as an All-Star in 1992, but he won his fifth consecutiveSilver Slugger Award.[1] In 1993, he won theRoberto Clemente Award,[6] which recognizes players who display sportsmanship, community service and on-field ability.[9] In 1995, Larkin finished sixth in batting (.319) and second in stolen bases (51) to win the National League'sMVP award, the first by a shortstop sinceMaury Wills in 1962. He led the Reds to theNational League Central division title and theNational League Championship Series, where he batted .389 during the series loss to theeventual championAtlanta Braves.[6]
In 1996, Larkin hit a career-high 33 home runs and stole 36 bases, becoming the first shortstop in Major League history to join the30–30 club.[10] He arguably had a better season in 1996 than he had in his MVP year of 1995, as hison-base percentage andslugging percentage were both improved.
Larkin was named the Reds' captain before the 1997 season, making him the first player to hold the honor sinceDave Concepción's retirement. Beginning that season, Larkin suffered a series of injuries throughout the last few years of his career. He missed 55 games that year due to injuries to his calf and Achilles tendon.[11] About three weeks before the opening of the 1998 season, Larkin decided to undergo neck surgery for a perforated disk. He was not in severe pain, but he was unable to lift his arm enough to play defense.[12]
On September 27, 1998, Barry, his brotherStephen Larkin, second basemanBret Boone, and third basemanAaron Boone all played the infield at the same time for the last game of the 1998 season, making it the first time in MLB history that an infield was composed entirely of two pairs of brothers.[13] In 1999, Larkin was nearly traded to theLos Angeles Dodgers. He later said that he was approached by a Los Angeles clubhouse attendant, who gave him a Dodgers jersey with his name on it. The jersey had been prepared as trade negotiations advanced so that the teams could be prepared for a press conference about the trade.[14] Also in 1999, Larkin served as a pre-game analyst forNBC's coverage of theWorld Series alongside hostHannah Storm.[citation needed]
In July 2000, Larkin blocked a trade to theNew York Mets to remain with the Reds. The trade would have sent three players, top minor league outfielderAlex Escobar, pitcherEric Cammack and pitcher Jason Saenz, from the Mets to the Reds in exchange for Larkin. Larkin said that he would have gone to New York, as he enjoyed playing there, but the Mets did not want to sign him to a multi-year contract. The Reds signed him to a three-year contract extension worth $27 million.[15] In the 2000 season, Larkin missed 59 games after he injured his finger twice and he suffered a knee sprain.[16] He underwent finger surgery in April and knee surgery in September.[17][18]
Larkin struggled with a groin injury in 2001, prompting criticism of his play. BroadcasterJoe Nuxhall said on air that Larkin had "lost it".[19] By August, the injury had limited Larkin to 45 games. He underwent season-ending surgery for a hernia that had been diagnosed during an evaluation of the groin injury.[19] During the 2002 season, Larkin played in 145 games but hit for the lowest batting average (.245) since his first full year in the major leagues. Though he did not miss many games, Larkin dealt with injuries to his rib cage, hamstring, shoulder, neck and toe.[20]
In 2003, Larkin had spent two stints on the disabled list with calf injuries by late May.[20] During strained contract negotiations with Reds chief operating officer John Allen in late 2003, Larkin almost left the team. Larkin and the Reds agreed to a one-year contract for 2004. Larkin called off a planned retirement ceremony scheduled for October 2, 2004, because he was not sure if he would retire. In that season, Larkin hit for a .289batting average in his final season. He announced his retirement in February 2005.[21]
Commenting on Larkin's retirement after such a strong season, sports columnistTerence Moore drew a comparison to the retirement ofTed Williams. He wrote, "Barry Larkin wasn't quite Williams at the end, but he was in the vicinity when it comes to the big picture... After years of injuries, he showed what a healthy Larkin still could do, but he also showed that he preferred to leave the game more like Williams than just about anybody else you can name in baseball history."[22] In his 19-year career with Cincinnati, Larkin hit .295 with 2,340hits, 198 home runs, 960RBI, 1,329runs scored, and 379 stolen bases. Baseball writerBill James has called Larkin one of the greatest shortstops of all time, ranking him #6 all time in hisNew Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract. Despite missing significant playing time in six seasons,[23] Larkin won theGold Glove Award three times (1994–1996) and was a 12-time All-Star (1988–1991, 1993–1997, 1999, 2000, and 2004).[6] He became the first major league shortstop to join the30–30 club when he had 33home runs and 36stolen bases in 1996.[24]
After his retirement, Larkin was hired as a special assistant to the general manager in theWashington Nationals organization. With the Nationals, he worked under former Reds general managerJim Bowden. Larkin had hoped to work for the Reds, butUSA Today reported that his 2003 contract disagreement with Allen eliminated that opportunity.[21] In 2008, he signed with theMLB Network as a studio analyst.[25]
He was thebench coach for the United States at the 2009World Baseball Classic and managed the United States' second-round game againstPuerto Rico when U.S. managerDavey Johnson left to attend his stepson's wedding.[26] On July 20, 2008, he was inducted into theCincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum.[27] In 2009, he was inducted into theNational College Baseball Hall of Fame.[3]
In 2011, Larkin left Washington forESPN to serve as aBaseball Tonight analyst.[28]
In 2012, Larkin was voted into theHall of Fame with 86.4% of the vote. He was the eighth Reds player and 24th shortstop inducted to the Hall of Fame. On August 25, 2012, his number 11 was retired in an official ceremony atGreat American Ball Park.[29] In2010, his first year of eligibility for theHall of Fame, Larkin had received 51.6% of the vote[30] (75 percent is needed for election). In 2011, he received 62.1% of the vote,[31] the highest of non-inducted players and third overall.
He was invited by the Brazilian Baseball Federation to managetheir national team in thequalifiers for the 2013 World Baseball Classic. Brazil beat host countryPanama in Brazil's first time to qualify for the event. Larkin said Brazil was originally scheduled to play in Puerto Rico, but because of the huge Japanese baseball influence in Brazil, they played in Japan. The team playedCuba andChina besides the home country.[32][33] The team went winless in its WBC debut and was eliminated after the first round.
In November 2013,Detroit Tigers general managerDave Dombrowski confirmed that the organization had intended to interview Larkin for its open managerial position. Larkin declined the interview due to the time commitment associated with the job.Brad Ausmus was named the new Tigers manager on November 3, 2013.[34]
In November 2014, theTampa Bay Times reported that Larkin was among 10 candidates interviewed for the Tampa Bay Rays' managerial job.[35] Larkin was not among the team's three finalists, and the job ultimately went toKevin Cash.[36]Larkin joined the Cincinnati Reds as a minor-league roving infield instructor in May 2015.[37] He helped out the big-league club during spring training 2016. When asked whether he hoped to manage in the future, he said, "Never say never. The conditions have to be right and, you know, the manager's job, at least in my opinion, is not about just having the manager's position. It's about having the support system to support that manager's position."[38]
In September 2016, Larkin managed Brazil at the2017 World Baseball Classic qualification, where the team failed to qualify for thefinal tournament after losing toGreat Britain.[39][40][41]
On February 16, 2021, it was announced that Larkin joined the Reds' television broadcast team onFox Sports Ohio.[42]
In July 2022, Larkin became an executive partner of the newly formed United International Baseball League, the first professional baseball league in the Middle East and South Asia;[43] in November, it was announced that the league had been renamedBaseball United and that he had joined its ownership group.[44]
On January 29, 2025, it was announced that Larkin would join the effort to bring Major League Baseball toOrlando, Florida as the MLB Ambassador for the Orlando Dreamers.[45]
Larkin has also been an active participant in theSportsUnited Sports Envoy program for theU.S. Department of State. In this function, he has traveled to Colombia, Ecuador, India, Lithuania, Taiwan, where he worked with to conduct baseball clinics and events that reached more than 2,200 youth from underserved areas. In so doing, Larkin helped contribute to SportsUnited's mission to reach out to youth populations in order to promote growth and a stable democratic government.[46][47]
Larkin's brother,Stephen Larkin, was also a professional baseball player; he made it to the major leagues for one game with the Reds in 1998.[48] Another brother,Byron Larkin, was a second-teamAll-American basketball player atXavier University and is the color commentator on Xavier basketball radio broadcasts. Larkin's eldest brother, Mike, was a captain of theNotre Dame football team in1985. They were all raisedCatholic.[49]
Larkin and his wife have two daughters and a son,Shane. The family lives inOrlando, Florida. Shane played two seasons at theUniversity of Miami before being a first round draft pick in the2013 NBA draft. He played for four NBA teams in 4 seasons, starting 41 times.[50] Larkin's daughters playlacrosse. His oldest daughter, Brielle D'Shea, is named in honor ofShea Stadium, as Larkin enjoyed playing there.[51]
A two-sport standout in his senior year of high school, Larkin went to the University of Michigan on a scholarship to play defensive back for Schembechler's Wolverines. When he arrived in Ann Arbor, Larkin learned he was being redshirted.
Cincinnati shortstop Barry Larkin, who also enjoys playing in New York, named his daughter Brielle D'Shea. Now a TV analyst for the Cincinnati Reds for the 2021 baseball season. .
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