Baseball Hall of Fame 2012: Barry Larkin Gets the Call to Cooperstown

Barry Larkin received the call he had been waiting for this afternoon when he learned he would be joining baseball's immortals in the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame.

The hometown kid who played his entire 19-year career with the Cincinnati Reds received over 86 percent of the vote and will be heading to Cooperstown for enshrinement in July. 

It is perhaps one of the greatest honors in all of sports, and the man who revolutionized the shortstop position will become only the 22nd player from his position ever selected to the Hall of Fame.

For Larkin, like many others, it was about more than just the numbers. His .295 career average, .371 OBP and .444 SLG are some of the best numbers of any shortstop ever to play the game.

Only three shortstops ever to play have had a higher OPS than the .815 Larkin posted.

He also won nine Silver Slugger awards as the best hitter at his position, more than any other shortstop ever to play and behind only Barry Bonds and Mike Piazza for the most of all time.

Larkin also won three Gold Gloves and a World Series title.

He finished his career with 379 stolen bases and a success rate of over 83 percent, good for fifth all time. When it came to stealing third base, nobody was better than Larkin.

The man affectionately referred to as "The Captain" won the National League MVP in 1995 and followed that up in 1996, becoming the first 30-30 shortstop when he hit 33 home runs and stole 36 bases.

He was not only the first shortstop to complete the feat, but also only the second infielder to go 30-30.

That season paved the way for future players like Alex Rodriguez, Nomar Garciaparra and Derek Jeter, and only three shortstops since have ever accomplished that feat.

While the numbers are great, what separates Larkin from other players of his era is not found in the numbers. The amount of at bats he gave up to move runners over is something that goes unnoticed by the casual fan.

Larkin more often than any other player in recent memory hit behind runners and gave up outs to move a runner from second to third or even first to second.

He was an unselfish leader that let his play on the field speak for itself.

Larkin played with some great players in Cincinnati over his career, but he was always the best player on the team.

As a 12-time All-Star, he was the most dominant player at his position for over a decade and is one of the most complete players the game has ever seen. 

As a kid who grew up in Cincinnati, idolizing Larkin, I was one of the many Knothole baseball players who wore No. 11 and tried to play like their idol on the diamonds in my hometown.

There were very few little league shortstops in the city of Cincinnati who didn't wear No. 11 during the decade of the '90s.

As Larkin is the only player selected in the class of 2012, Cooperstown will be filled with Cincinnati Reds fans in July.

Cincinnati is and always will be a baseball town and a city that is proud of their own.

Larkin is one of their own, and the city could not be more proud of one of their local heroes.

The Cincinnati Reds organization is one of the most storied and proud in baseball history. It now has another Hall of Famer to add to that allure.

Cooperstown will welcome their newest member on July 22, and a good portion of the city of Cincinnati will be making the 685-mile trip up north to join their local hero at his enshrinement into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame.

Congratulations to Barry Larkin on a long-awaited and well-deserved honor.

The city of Cincinnati couldn't be happier for you.

Cooperstown awaits.

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