Barry Larkin Voted into Baseball Hall of Fame

Former Cincinnati Reds shortstop Barry Larkin was only player voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers of America for 2012, joining the late Ron Santo who was selected by the Golden Era Committee last month.  Larkin’s playing career ran from 1986 to 2004, and he was one of those rare players who spent his entire career with one team.

Larkin was one of the top infielders of his era, both with his bat and with his glove.  He had a lifetime batting average of .298 with 198 home runs, 960 RBIs, 379 stolen bases, and over 1300 runs scored.  He was the National League’s Most Valuable Player in 1995, when he had career highs in batting average (.319) and stolen bases (51).  He also won the second of his three career Gold Gloves for fielding.

Next year, the voting gets interesting.  All time home run leader Barry Bonds, 354 game winning pitcher Roger Clemens, and slugger Sammy Sosa, who hit 609 lifetime homers, all are eligible for the first time.  Their careers were all tainted by the use of performance enhancing drugs.  They join Mark McGwire and Rafael Palmeiro who are already on the ballot and also used performance enhancing drugs.  Neither one has come close to election despite steller career numbers.