Monday, July 23, 2012

Congratulations to new Hall of Famer Larkin


You had to love Barry Larkin’s enthusiasm during his induction ceremony into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

He was humble, gracious, grateful and just downright happy about being the newest Hall of Famer. The Captain of the Cincinnati Reds wore the brightest smile in Cooperstown, New York at yesterday’s ceremony officially welcoming him to baseball’s exclusive club. And it was a moment he was able to share with his dad, which made it that much sweeter.

Reggie Jackson probably thinks Larkin was only inducted into a watered-down Hall, a Hall that Jackson believes really should be reserved for baseball greats such as himself, because of declining standards by the voters. But Larkin truly deserved Hall of Fame induction due to his remarkable career, which included 12 All-Star game selections, the 1995 Most Valuable Player Award, three Gold Gloves and nine Silver Slugger awards.

To think, we could have lost Derek Jeter to the Reds if Larkin wasn’t such a terrific shortstop. How different would the course of history be if Jeter had been drafted by the Reds instead of the New York Yankees? But luckily for us Yankee fans, the Reds already had their Hall of Fame shortstop so we got ours.

But there’s no question in my mind that Larkin deserves to be in the Hall. Congratulations, Barry. You deserve it. Enjoy your moment. 

Thanks to Rdikeman via en.Wikipedia for the Barry Larkin photo. 

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