Eugene Thomas Larkin (born October 24, 1962) is an American former switch-hitting

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. Unlike other players in a team's lineup, they generally only play as an offensive player and usually do not play defense as ...

, and

right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

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 ...

who played his entire seven-season career with the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

. During his playing career he wore #9 for Minnesota, and was a member of both the

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

and

1991 World Series The 1991 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1991 season. The 88th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Minnesota Twins (95–67) an ...

championship teams. He is best known for hitting the series-winning single, a deep fly ball that was not caught by the Braves' drawn-in outfield and scored

Dan Gladden Clinton Daniel Gladden III (born July 7, 1957) is an American former professional baseball player and current radio broadcaster. An outfielder, he played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants (1983–1986), Minnesota Twins ( ...

from third base during the tenth inning in Game 7 of the 1991 Series. Larkin was one of seven Twins to be part of both the 1987 and 1991 World Series teams. The other six were Randy Bush, Greg Gagne,

Kirby Puckett Kirby Puckett (March 14, 1960 – March 6, 2006) was an American professional baseball player. He played his entire 12-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career for the Minnesota Twins (1984–1995). Puckett was instrumental in helping the Twins t ...

Al Newman Albert Dwayne Newman (born June 30, 1960) is an American former infielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Montreal Expos (1985–1986), Minnesota Twins (1987–1991) and Texas Rangers (1992). Newman was a switch-hitter and threw r ...

, Kent Hrbek and Gladden. Larkin attended

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, where he played for the Lions and was later drafted in the 20th round of the amateur draft. He was the first alumnus of Columbia University to make the major leagues since

Lou Gehrig Henry Louis Gehrig ( ; June 19, 1903June 2, 1941), also known as Heinrich Ludwig Gehrig, was an American professional baseball first baseman who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees (1923–1939). Gehrig was ...

. He also graduated from Chaminade High School in

Mineola, New York Mineola is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village and the county seat of Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on Long Island, Long Island, New York, United States. The population was 20,800 at the time of the 2020 United Stat ...

. He lives in

Eden Prairie, Minnesota Eden Prairie is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. It had a population of 64,198 at the 2020 census, making it the 16th-largest city in Minnesota. The city is adjacent to the north bank of the Minnesota River, upstream fro ...

, where he coaches youth travel baseball and is the Vice President of Players Only Incorporated, where he does private and group instruction. In a 758-game major league career, Larkin compiled a .266

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

(618-for-2321) with 275 runs, 32

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run ...

and 266 RBI. He recorded a .992

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a baseball positions, defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putout ...

at first base and right and left field. In the postseason, in 1987 and 1991 for the Twins, he hit .273 (3-for-11) with 2 RBI.

References

External links

: {{DEFAULTSORT:Larkin, Gene 1962 births Living people American people of Irish descent Baseball players from Queens, New York Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball designated hitters Minnesota Twins players Orlando Twins players Columbia Lions baseball players Chaminade High School alumni All-American college baseball players Elizabethton Twins players Portland Beavers players Visalia Oaks players