Greatest Reds of All-Time: #7

After a week off for Thanksgiving…The 7th greatest Red of all-time is:….Barry Larkin.

Larkin was the face of the Reds in the 1990′s and early 2000′s. He was the captain of the team and its unquestioned leader. Larkin won a world series in 1990 and later the MVP in 1995.

Barry Larkin’s game is very well-rounded as he excelled both in the field and at the dish. Larkin played his whole career in Cincinnati which spanned three decades. He finished his elite career as a .295 hitter with 198 HR, 960 RBI, 379 SB and a .975 fielding percentage at SS, slightly better than Reds’ great Dave Concepcion, who anchored the Reds middle infield during the Big Red Machine years.

Year	Tm	AB	R	HR	RBI	SB	BA	OBP	SLG	Awards
1986	CIN	159	27	3	19	8	.283	.320	.403	RoY-7
1987	CIN	439	64	12	43	21	.244	.306	.371
1988	CIN	588	91	12	56	40	.296	.347	.429	AS,SS
1989	CIN	325	47	4	36	10	.342	.375	.446	AS,SS
1990	CIN	614	85	7	67	30	.301	.358	.396	AS,MVP-7,SS
1991	CIN	464	88	20	69	24	.302	.378	.506	AS,MVP-17,SS
1992	CIN	533	76	12	78	15	.304	.377	.454	MVP-12,SS
1993	CIN	384	57	8	51	14	.315	.394	.445	AS
1994	CIN	427	78	9	52	26	.279	.369	.419	AS,GG
1995	CIN	496	98	15	66	51	.319	.394	.492	AS,MVP-1,GG,SS
1996	CIN	517	117	33	89	36	.298	.410	.567	AS,MVP-12,GG,SS
1997	CIN	224	34	4	20	14	.317	.440	.473	AS
1998	CIN	538	93	17	72	26	.309	.397	.504	SS
1999	CIN	583	108	12	75	30	.293	.390	.420	AS,MVP-22,SS
2000	CIN	396	71	11	41	14	.313	.389	.487	AS
2001	CIN	156	29	2	17	3	.256	.373	.372
2002	CIN	507	72	7	47	13	.245	.305	.367
2003	CIN	241	39	2	18	2	.282	.345	.382
2004	CIN	346	55	8	44	2	.289	.352	.419	AS
162 Game Avg.		590	99	15	71	28	.295	.371	.444

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 12/1/2010.

Larkin was a 12 time all-star with his last all-star appearance being in 2004, his last season. His best year was undoubtedly 1995 when he stole 51 bases and hit .319 with an OPS of .886. In the field, Larkin was a three time gold glove award winner from 1994-1996.

What made Larkin so special was that he was to the Reds what Derek Jeter currently is to the Yankees. He was the face of the franchise, and a consistent force in the lineup that never left despite the common turnover of the roster during his years.

In 1982, when he was drafted by the Reds, they likely had no idea that he would likely go into the Hall of Fame as a Reds about 30 years later. Larkin will likely get into the Hall of Fame sooner rather than later. In his first year on the ballot last year, he received 51.6 percent of vote.

From World Series winner, to MVP, to Hall of Famer, Larkin did it all for the Reds.

If you have missed any of the others in the Greatest Reds of All-Time, you can click the links below to take you directly to that post:
#10
#9
#8