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Barry Louis Larkin (born April 28, 1964) is an American former professional
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...
. As a player he spent his entire 19-year
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
(MLB) career with the Cincinnati 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 the
Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...
for several years until he joined
ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
as a baseball analyst. He served as a coach for the American team in the 2009 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 nine Silver Slugger awards, three Gold Glove awards, and the 1995 National League Most Valuable Player Award. He was selected to the Major League All-Star Game twelve times, and was one of the pivotal players on the 1990 Reds'
World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...
championship team. In
2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
, Larkin was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.


Early life and education

Born and raised in the
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
suburb of Silverton, Ohio, and raised
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
, Larkin attended Archbishop Moeller High School. Larkin accepted a football scholarship to the
University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
to play for coach Bo 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 two
College World Series The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is a baseball tournament held each June in Omaha, Nebraska. It is the culmination of the NCAA Division I baseball tournament—featuring 64 teams in the ...
, in 1983 and 1984 (the last time until 2019). Larkin was also named Big Ten Player of the Year in 1984 and 1985. Larkin's number 16 was retired by the school on May 1, 2010. Baseball at the 1984 Summer Olympics saw Larkin playing for the United States team.


Minor league career

Barry Larkin played with the Vermont Reds on their team that won the 1985 Eastern League Championship and in 1986 was the Rookie of the Year and AAA Player of the Year with the Denver Zephyrs. In all, he played only 177 minor league games in his professional career.


MLB career


Early career

After arriving in the majors, Larkin battled fellow prospect Kurt 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. Larkin batted .353 in the 1990 World Series to help lead the Reds to a four-game sweep of the
Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...
. On June 27–28, 1991, Larkin became the first shortstop ever to hit five home runs in the span of two consecutive games. He earned his fourth consecutive All-Star Game selection that season. After the 1991 season, Larkin questioned whether the Reds had a 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 pitchers Tim Belcher and Greg 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. Larkin was not selected as an All-Star in 1992, but he won his fifth consecutive
Silver Slugger Award The Silver Slugger Award has been awarded annually since 1980 to the best Batting (baseball), offensive player at each Baseball positions, position in both the American League (AL) and the National League (baseball), National League (NL), as determ ...
. In 1993, he won the Roberto Clemente Award, which recognizes players who display sportsmanship, community service and on-field ability. In 1995, Larkin finished sixth in batting (.319) and second in stolen bases (51) to win the National League's MVP award, the first by a shortstop since Maury Wills in 1962. He led the Reds to the
National League Central The National League Central is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. This division was created in 1994, by moving two teams from the National League West (the Cincinnati Reds and the Houston Astros) and three teams from the National Le ...
division title and the 1995 National League Championship Series, where he batted .389 during the series loss to the eventual champion
Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...
. In 1996, Larkin hit a career-high 33 home runs and stole 36 bases, becoming the first shortstop in Major League history to join the 30–30 club. He arguably had a better season in 1996 than he had in his MVP year of 1995, as his on-base percentage and slugging percentage were both improved.


Middle career

Larkin was named the Reds' captain before the 1997 season, making him the first player to hold the honor since Dave 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 his Achilles tendon. 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 his defensive position. On September 27, 1998, Barry, his brother Stephen Larkin, second baseman Bret Boone, and third baseman
Aaron Boone Aaron John Boone (born March 9, 1973) is an American professional baseball manager and former infielder who is the manager of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for 13 seasons from 1997 to 2009. As ...
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. In 1999, Larkin was nearly traded to the
Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...
. 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 trade-related press conference. Also in 1999, Larkin served as a pre-game analyst for NBC's coverage of the
World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...
alongside host Hannah Storm. In July 2000, Larkin blocked a trade to the
New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...
to remain with the Reds. The trade would have sent three players — top minor league outfielder Alex Escobar, pitcher Eric 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. In the 2000 season, Larkin missed 59 games after he injured his finger twice and he suffered a knee sprain. He underwent finger surgery in April and knee surgery in September.


Later career

Larkin struggled with a groin injury in 2001, prompting criticism of his play. Broadcaster Joe Nuxhall said on air that Larkin had "lost it". 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. 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. In 2003, Larkin had spent two stints on the disabled list with calf injuries by late May. During strained contract negotiations with Reds COO 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 .289 batting average. He announced his retirement in February 2005. Commenting on Larkin's retirement after such a strong season, sports columnist Terence Moore drew a comparison to the retirement of Ted 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." In his 19-year career with Cincinnati, Larkin hit .295 with 2,340 hits, 198 home runs, 960 RBI, 1,329
runs scored In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted bal ...
and 379 stolen bases. Baseball historian and expert
Bill James George William James (born October 5, 1949) is an American baseball writer, historian, and statistician whose work has been widely influential. Since 1977, James has written more than two dozen books about baseball history and statistics. His a ...
has called Larkin one of the greatest shortstops of all time, ranking him #6 all time in his ''New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract''. Despite missing significant playing time in six seasons, Larkin won the Gold Glove Award three times (1994–1996) and was a 12-time All-Star (1988–1991, 1993–1997, 1999, 2000, and 2004). He became the first major league shortstop to join the 30–30 club when he had 33 home runs and 36 stolen bases in 1996.


Post-retirement

After his retirement, Larkin was hired as a special assistant to the general manager in the
Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...
organization. With the Nationals, he worked under former Reds general manager Jim Bowden. Larkin had hoped to work for the Reds, but ''
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'' reported that his 2003 contract disagreement with Allen eliminated that opportunity. In 2008, he signed with the MLB Network as a studio analyst. He was the bench coach for the United States at the 2009 World Baseball Classic and managed the United States' second-round game against
Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
when U.S. manager Davey Johnson left to attend his stepson's wedding. On July 20, 2008, the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum inducted Larkin, César Gerónimo, August "Garry" Herrmann, and Joey Jay. The induction was held at the Duke Energy Center in downtown
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
. On Tuesday, March 24, 2009, the College Baseball Foundation announced the names of the ten players and coaches comprising the 2009 National College Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Class, which included Barry Larkin. In 2011, Larkin left Washington for
ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
to serve as a '' Baseball Tonight'' analyst. Larkin received great applause from Reds fans when he helped host ''Baseball Tonight's'' on-the-road coverage of Sunday Night Baseball at GABP on July 24, 2011. Crowd chants of "Barry Larkin" and "Hall of Fame" often caused the anchors to have to talk very loud to be heard. Larkin was coincidentally in Cincinnati for Baseball Tonight on the day of the 2011 Hall of Fame induction ceremonies. In 2012, Larkin was voted into the Hall 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 at Great American Ball Park. In
2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
, his first year of eligibility for the Hall of Fame, Larkin had received 51.6% of the vote (75 percent is needed for election). In 2011, he received 62.1% of the vote, the highest of non-inducted players and third overall. He was invited by the Brazilian Baseball Federation to manage their national team in the qualifiers for the 2013 World Baseball Classic. Brazil beat host country Panama in Brazil's first time to qualify for the event. They were originally scheduled to play in Puerto Rico, but because of the huge Japanese baseball influence in Brazil, they played in Japan. The team played Cuba and China besides the home country. The team went winless in its WBC debut and was eliminated after the first round. Larkin built the Champions Sports Complex to use sports in the social, emotional, and educational development of youth. In 2008, Larkin released a charity wine called "Barry Larkin's Merlot", with 100% of its proceeds supporting Champions Sports Foundation. In November 2013, Detroit Tigers general manager Dave 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. In November 2014, the ''
Tampa Bay Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', called the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It is published by the Times Publishing Company, which is owned by The Poynter Institute ...
'' reported that Larkin was among 10 candidates interviewed for the Tampa Bay Rays' managerial job. Larkin was not among the team's three finalists, and the job ultimately went to Kevin Cash. Larkin joined the Cincinnati Reds as a minor-league roving infield instructor in May 2015. 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."https://www.mlb.com/news/barry-larkin-joining-reds-tv-broadcast-crew In September 2016, Larkin managed Brazil at the 2017 World Baseball Classic qualification, where the team failed to qualify for the final tournament after losing to
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
. On February 16, 2021, it was announced that Larkin joined the Reds' television broadcast team on Fox Sports Ohio. 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; in November, it was announced that the league had been renamed Baseball United and that he had joined its investment and ownership group. On January 29, 2025, it was announced that Larkin would join the effort to bring Major League Baseball to
Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...
as the MLB Ambassador for the Orlando Dreamers.


Sports diplomacy

Larkin has also been an active participant in the SportsUnited Sports Envoy program for the U.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.


Personal life

Larkin's brother, Stephen Larkin, was also a professional baseball player; he made it to the major leagues for one game with the Reds. Another brother, Byron Larkin, was a second-team
All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...
basketball player at Xavier University and is the color commentator on Xavier basketball radio broadcasts. Larkin's eldest brother, Mike, was a captain of the
University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...
's football team in 1985. They were all raised
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
. Larkin and his wife Lisa have two daughters, Brielle D'Shea and Cymber, and a son, Shane. The family lives in
Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...
. Shane played two seasons at the
University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...
before declaring himself eligible for the 2013 NBA draft. Shane was subsequently traded to the
Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...
and made his NBA debut in November 2013. Shane started as a guard for the Boston Celtics in 2017. Larkin's daughters play
lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...
. Brielle D'Shea is named in honor of Shea Stadium, as Larkin enjoyed playing there.


See also

*
List of Major League Baseball career hits leaders Listed are all Major League Baseball players who have reached the 2,000 hit (baseball), hit milestone during their career in MLB. Pete Rose holds the Major League record for most career hits, with 4,256. Rose and Ty Cobb, second most, are the only ...
*
List of Major League Baseball career runs scored leaders Listed are all Major League Baseball (MLB) players with 1,000 or more career runs scored. Players in boldface are active as of the 2025 Major League Baseball season. Key List *Stats updated as of June 16, 2025. Through June 16, 2025, th ...
*
List of Major League Baseball career stolen bases leaders In baseball statistics, a stolen base is credited to a baserunning, baserunner when he successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is throwing the ball to home plate. Under Rule 5.06 of Major League Baseball's (MLB) Official Rules ...
*
List of Major League Baseball players who spent their entire career with one franchise The following is a list of former Major League Baseball (MLB) players who played in at least 10 MLB seasons and spent their entire MLB playing careers exclusively with one franchise. In most cases, this means the player only appeared with one te ...
* 30–30 club


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Larkin, Barry 1964 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen 30–30 club African-American baseball managers African-American baseball players African-American Catholics All-American college baseball players Baseball in Brazil Baseball players at the 1984 Summer Olympics Baseball players from Cincinnati Cincinnati Reds announcers Cincinnati Reds players Denver Zephyrs players ESPN people Gold Glove Award winners Major League Baseball broadcasters Major League Baseball players with retired numbers Major League Baseball shortstops Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Michigan Wolverines baseball players MLB Network personalities Moeller High School alumni Nashville Sounds players National Baseball Hall of Fame inductees National College Baseball Hall of Fame inductees National League All-Stars National League Most Valuable Player Award winners National baseball team managers Olympic silver medalists for the United States in baseball Silver Slugger Award winners Vermont Reds players Washington Nationals executives World Baseball Classic managers