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Even Barry Larkin was somewhat stunned by the increase in votes he received for the Baseball Hall of Fame from a year ago.
"I was really surprised by that," he said. "I don't know how things changed, but I'm really happy. I'm so thankful to everyone who voted and supported me."
The longtime shortstop for the Cincinnati Reds became the lone inductee for 2012 when it was announced Monday that he received 86.4% of the votes from the Baseball Writers Association of America. It takes 75% of the votes cast for election.
Larkin, 47, gained election in his third year on the ballot, receiving 495 of 573 ballots cast by BBWAA members with at least 10 years of service. It took 430 votes for election.
A year ago, Larkin received 62.1% of the ballots cast, missing by 75 votes. The 24.3% jump from one year to the next was the biggest in 64 years.
Jack Morris and Jeff Bagwell also saw their vote totals jump but not enough for election. In his 13th year on the ballot, Morris totaled 66.7% of the votes (382) with Bagwell coming in at 56% (321) in his second attempt. Lee Smith was next at 50.6% (290), followed by Tim Raines at 48.7% (279).
While some questioned in the past whether Larkin was Hall-worthy, legendary Reds second baseman Joe Morgan said he had no doubts.
"Barry Larkin's election to the Hall of Fame comes at a time where statistics are as important as the eye test, and Barry passes both tests," said Morgan. "When you watched him play, you knew he was a special player."
Another Reds icon, Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench, said, "Barry distinguished himself as a tremendous leader and a dominating player. Winning a World Series and an MVP plus Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Awards puts him among the elite players in Reds history. Congratulations to a class act, on and off the field."
Larkin spent his entire 19-year career in the majors with the Reds. He had a career batting average of .295 with 198 home runs, 960 runs batted in, 2,340 hits and 379 stolen bases.Â
Larkin won three Gold Gloves, nine Silver Slugger Awards and was a 12-time all-star and won the National League MVP award in 1995. He batted .353 during a World Series sweep of Oakland in 1990.
In a surprising gesture, Larkin gave credit to a legendary football coach for paving the way for his success in baseball. Upon arriving at University of Michigan on a dual scholarship, Larkin was told by Wolverines coach Bo Schembechler that he would be redshirted in football and should concentrate on baseball.
"That was the first time in my life that I played only one sport," said Larkin, also a basketball star in high school in Cincinnati. "That's when I began to blossom as a baseball player."
Larkin also recalled being told by a Reds minor-league executive that the decision had been made to move him to second base. The reasoning was that he'd never excel enough to supplant Kurt Stillwell as the successor to all-star shortstop Davey Concepción.
"I was thinking, 'You guys need to trade me. I'm going to play shortstop,' " recalled Larkin. "That's the way I felt and believed."
Looks as if he was right.
Larkin will be inducted in Cooperstown on July 22 along with the late Ron Santo, who was elected by the Golden Era Committee last month.
Of the 13 first-time players on the ballot, only one received the necessary 5% of the vote to remain eligible. Bernie Williams received 55 votes, or 9.6%. Two former Brewers, Eric Young and Jeromy Burnitz, received one and no votes, respectively.
Two-time MVP Juan Gonzalez received only 4% (23) of the votes cast and fell off the ballot in his second year.
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