Barry Larkin Hall of Famer

Barry Larkin was elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame on Monday,and he will be inducted July 22 in Cooperstown along with the late Ron Santo, elected last month by the Veterans Committee. The former Cincinnati Reds shortstop was chosen on 495 of 573 ballots (86 percent) in voting announced by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, well above the necessary 75 percent. Larkin was on the ballot for the third time after falling 75 votes short last year. Playing from 1986-04—all with his hometown Reds—Larkin hit .295 with 198 home runs, 960 RBIs, 2,340 hits and 379 stolen bases. A 12-time All-Star, he won the 1995 NL MVP award, three Gold Gloves and the 1990 World Series. In 1996, he became the first shortstop to have 30 homers and 30 steals in a season. “I am so humbled by the experience and so excited about being the newest member of the Hall of Fame,” Larkin said on a conference call. Larkin got 52 percent when he appeared on the ballot for the first time in 2010. He received the largest single-year percentage increase to gain election since 1948, when pitcher Herb Pennock was elected with 77.7 percent, a year after finishing with 53.4 percent. “That was really surprising. I don’t know how things changed,” Larkin said.