Barry Larkin

Barry Louis Larkin (born April 28, 1964) is an American former professional baseball player.

He was a two-time All-American and led the Wolverines to berths in two College World Series, in 1983 and 1984 (the last time until 2019).

Larkin was also named Big Ten Player of the Year in 1984 and 1985.

Baseball at the 1984 Summer Olympics saw Larkin playing for the United States team.

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.

He played shortstop for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB) 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.

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.

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 championship team.

Larkin batted .353 in the 1990 World Series to help lead the Reds to a four-game sweep of the Oakland Athletics.

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.

In 1993, he won the Roberto Clemente Award, which recognizes players who display sportsmanship, community service and on-field ability.

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.

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 division title and the 1995 National League Championship Series, where he batted .389 during the series loss to the eventual champion Atlanta Braves.

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.

Larkin struggled with a string of injuries between 1997 and 2003, limiting his playing time in several seasons.

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 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.

Larkin retired after the 2004 season and worked in a front-office position for the Washington Nationals for several years until he joined ESPN 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's number 16 was retired by the school on May 1, 2010.

Larkin was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in January 2012 and was inducted on July 22, 2012.

Born and raised in the Cincinnati suburb of Silverton, Ohio, and raised Catholic, Larkin attended Archbishop Moeller High School.

Larkin accepted a football scholarship to the University of Michigan to play for coach Bo Schembechler, but during his freshman year, he decided to play baseball exclusively.