The Baseball 2012 Hall of Fame Votes are in, Welcome Barry Larkin

Cincinnati Reds shortstop Barry Larkin has been elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and is the only player, this year, to be voted in by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. A player has to receive more than 75% of the votes to get into the Hall; Larkin received 86.4% of the votes.

Larkin’s selection really shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. Speculation was running wild the last few days that Larkin would be selected in his third year of eligibility.

I was an Oakland Athletics fan growing up and I remember how Barry Larkin, Chris Sabo, and others overcame the odds by winning the 1990 World Series. On paper Oakland was supposed to run over the Reds, but I guess that is why they play the games.

In my opinion Larkin helped pave the way for the offensive shortstop. Shortstops had not been known for their bats but players like Barry Larkin and Cal Ripken Jr. changed that line of thinking.

There is no doubting the numbers that Barry Larkin accumulated over his nineteen year career (all with Cincinnati). A career .295 hitter he also clubbed 198 home runs and had 960 RBI’s. Larkin also scored 1,329 runs and stole 379 bases. A solid glove is a huge asset for a shortstop to posses and Larkin didn’t disappoint posting a career .975 fielding percentage.

His individual accomplishments were capped with the 1990 World Series win but he was also a twelve time All-Star and won the 1995 National League MVP award.

What remains to be seen is what will happen to the other players trying to get elected. Players like Minnesota Twins hurler Jack Morris and Houston Astros first baseman Jeff Bagwell. Both men had tremendous careers but for some voters are just shy of the numbers needed to warrant election into the Hall. Unfortunately for them the 2013 vote has all of the makings of a very heated and controversial vote.

Three players, closely tied to performance enhancing drugs, will become eligible for the first time on the 2013 ballot. Home run champion Barry Bonds, pitching legend Roger Clemens and slugger Sammy Sosa will all be Hall of Fame eligible for the first time.

I fear that all of the attention will be given to debating these three players’ eligibility and people like Morris, Bagwell and 2013 first timer Craig Biggio will be relatively ignored. It would be a great shame if these players did not receive the attention that they deserve.

It is not uncommon for a player of Larkin's caliber to stay in the sport some way or another. For some players they elect to get into coaching; it could be they aspire to become big league skippers or want to be the manager at the college they went to.

For others they get into broadcasting. If you have turned ESPN on you have probably seen Larkin on the Baseball Tonight set. He obviously has the credentials to talk about the sport so, if you have time, listen to what a former professional player has to say about this great sport we know as baseball.