Happy Birthday, Barry Larkin!

I know that these past few weeks, months (months?) that we've been hunkered down and socially distant have been rough. One small thing that I was doing at work that I've carried over to my work-at-home life is bringing a different card to my desk every day. Since I don't have to plan very far in advance now that I work in the same place as my collection, I have a new pre-work ritual. I check baseball reference each morning for "This Day In Baseball History" and grab a card from my collection that has some connection to the current day. It's helped to make each day a little different, and kept at bay the running together of the weeks. This 1987 Donruss Barry Larkin was my card today.

Oh, I've never done a Barry Larkin post before? That's crazy. Today is Barry Larkin's birthday. Larkin was born in Cincinnati and grew up in the 60s and 70s during one of the most successful era of Reds baseball. In high school, Larkin was a multi-sport athlete and was more highly recruited to play football than baseball. He was redshirted (FORESHADOWING!) his freshman year as a Defensive Back for the University of Michigan, so he asked if he could play baseball that spring. He exceeded all expectations for the Baseball team, becoming the Big Ten Tournament MVP and the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. He was an All-American the next two seasons as the Wolverines made regular trips to the college World Series. He teamed up with Hal Morris and Chris Sabo at the U of M and would see them again soon. The Reds would have all three by the time the team returned to the World Series in 1990.

Larkin of course was already on the Reds' radar, they tried to draft him out of high school as well! When he came to the organization, his minor league stay was destined to be short. He played in parts of just two minor league seasons reporting directly to AA after being drafted, then crushing AAA in his second pro season, earning a late season call up to the Majors in 1986. He was named AAA Player of the Year despite not playing the whole season in the minors. The 22 year old wasted little time making an impact at the big league level, driving in a run as a pinch hitter in his debut. He still had plenty of work to prove his mettle. The balance of the 1986 season would be a test to see which Reds' #1 pick would be their shortstop of the future, Larkin or #2 overall pick from 1983, Kurt Stillwell.

Just want to pause for a second to point out this 1992 Donruss card - since when do you see a cool card from 1992 Donruss?

Stillwell was a future All-Star and a solid defender at short, but the writing was on the wall early in 1987 that Larkin was player the Reds should build around. By the end of the year, Stillwell would be traded to Kansas City, and Larkin would be the Reds' shortstop for the next 18 seasons.

On a personal note, Barry Larkin was my favorite Reds player for a long time. The Reds were my National League team because my father was from Ohio and his side of the family still live there - Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati was one of the only other ballparks I had visited until I became an adult. Ever since my first trip to see the Reds, Larkin was there. I would take a trip to Ohio every summer to visit my grandparents, and we didn't get to go every year but Reds' games and Barry Larkin in particular was always a highlight for me.

The man has personality, is what I am saying. He has a great article written for the Player's Tribune about one of his fondest memories from playing baseball, and I hope you check it out. A great tribute to the end of a long season. Whether we get to watch baseball or not in 2020, it's games like the one that Larkin describes that will stick with you long after a season or career ends.

I'm glad to see that Larkin still gets into modern products - he doesn't have the same cachet as The Big Red Machine alums like Joe Morgan or Pete Rose or Johnny Bench, and he didn't play with the same flash as the Nasty Boys or the same style as Eric Davis (or on the opposite end of the spectrum, Chris Sabo). But looking at his career as a whole you have to wonder why he's not a bigger deal. The 2012 Hall of Fame Inductee was a 12 time All-Star, with an MVP award in 1995, 3 Gold Gloves and 9 Silver Sluggers. He was the first short stop to reach the 30/30 club, and during one season reached base in 13 consecutive plate appearances. His 9 Silver Sluggers are the most all time by a Shortstop.

He played for 19 seasons, though he did have injuries that hampered him in '89, '93, and '97 during his prime production years. Bill James, as recently as 2018, makes a case for Barry Larkin as one of the best shortstops of all time.