Larkin, Barry L.
Baseball
b. April 28, 1964, Cincinnati, OH
An All-American shortstop at the University of Michigan in 1985, the 6-foot, 196-pound Larkin joined the NL's Cincinnati Reds during the 1986 season. After hitting .296 in 1988, he missed much of the 1989 season with an injury.
Larkin came back strong in 1990 and hit over .300 each of the next four seasons. He led the league's shortstops with 469 assists in 1990. The Sporting News named Larkin to its NL all-star team five years in a row, from 1988 through 1992.
Larkin starred in Cincinnati's four-game World Series victory over the Oakland Athletics in 1990, batting .353 and handling 15 chances without an error.
In 1995, Larkin led the Reds to a division title, hitting .319 with 15 home runs and 51 stolen bases, and became the first shortstop to be named the National League's most valuable player since Maury Wills of the Dodgers in 1962. He hit .387 in post-season play, but Cincinnati lost to the Braves in the league championship series.
Although his averaged dipped to .298 in 1996, Larkin became the first shortstop to hit more than 30 home runs and steal 30 bases in a season.
Since then, Larkin has often complained publicly about the Reds' inability to put together another championship team. On a couple of occasions, he has asked to be traded to a contender, but he has remained with Cincinnati.