Larkin gets Hall call

NEW YORK (AP) — Barry Larkin had no idea back in 1982 that he would become a baseball Hall of Famer thanks to Bo Schembechler.

A two-sport standout in his senior year of high school, Larkin went to the University of Michigan on a scholarship to play defensive back for Schembechler’s Wolverines. When he arrived in Ann Arbor, Larkin learned he was being redshirted.

“I was a better football player than a baseball player at the time,” Larkin recalled. “And that was influential because I just worked on my baseball talent, just that alone. And that was an eye-opener because I got so much better.”

So much better that he was elected to the Hall of Fame on Monday with plenty of room to spare. 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.

Jack Morris followed Larkin with 382 votes (67 percent), missing by 48 votes on his 13th try but up sharply from 54 percent last year. Morris, the ace of three World Series winners, finished with 254 victories and was the winningest pitcher of the 1980s.

His 3.90 ERA, however, is higher than that of any Hall of Famer.

He has two chances left on the BBWAA ballot. Gil Hodges (63.4 percent in 1983) has the highest percentage among players who never gained election.

Tags: hall of fame, sports, baseball, mlb