Barry Larkin hoping to get the Hall of Fame honour next year
Major League Baseball is moving onto a new year and with the Christmas holidays scheduled to end soon, ball clubs are expected to get back in shape for a return to regular league action in April. Top teams in the American League
and the National League are hoping to strike gold next season. San Francisco Giants made it to the top position last year.
However, before the spring training period kicks off in February, Baseball’s Hall of Fame class of 2011 will be announced on January 5. The scheduled event ties a large base of players who are looking for a way into the privileged
category this time around. One man, in particular, who is looking forward to the results, is Cincinnati Reds’ fabled shortstop, Barry Larkin.
Larkin was nominated last year for the Hall of Fame, but never made it through. He needed 75% of the ballot votes; however, he only managed to muster up 51.60%. Nevertheless, since the outcome is common, Larkin’s result was considered
as an astonishing stepping-stone for 2011. Barry now works with Major League Baseball and recently he was able to talk of his run in the Hall of Fame ballot.
"I had the opportunity last year to talk to (2009 inductee) Jim Rice. He got in on the 15th try," Larkin said. "He said there isn't anything you can do. You're just happy to be considered. The numbers are the numbers and you did
what you did. There's no going back to do anything different. If they decide to put me in, they'll decide. It's gratifying to be considered and an honor to be on the ballot. To be inducted would be even greater."
Larkin started off in 1986 as a Reds player after he was drafted by the team in 1985. He subsequently spent his entire career in Cincinnati and played on until 2004. The shortstop produced a batting average of .295 and managed
198 home runs in his illustrious career. He collected 960 Runs Batted In and piled on 2340 hits. He was a 12 time All-Star player and a three-time Gold Glove winner during his 19 years of service. Larkin played defensively by his own measure, but he helped
start an offensive trend in shortstops, throughout MLB.
"I got more recognized as an offensive threat and multi-dynamic player by hitting home runs and for average and stealing bases while playing good defence," Larkin told MLB.com in 2007. "I see myself as a trailblazer. It's expected
now that if you play shortstop in the big leagues, you have to do well in both sides of the game."
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