Alright, I'm sure you all know who Barry Larkin is (shortstop for the Cincinnati Reds, who has played for almost 20 years), the question is whether you think he will make it into the Hall of Fame.

I strongly believe he will. I think that in his prime, he was as good as Nomar and Jeter when they were doing better.

It's a close call, but I think so.

It helps him that he's played for only one team his whole career. Compared to other SS that are in, he'll make it.

Not only has he been a excellent shortstop over the years, but he has also been a solid citizen. No scandals.

If I'm picking an all time Reds team I would have a really difficult time picking between him and Concepcion. I don't have any trouble with the rest of the infield - I'll call Rose my 3rd baseman (he was there for the best years of the Big Red Machine), Morgan at 2nd, Perez at 1st, and Bench behind the plate.

Robinson, Pinson, and Foster in the outfield?

I would have to say no, Larkin is not a Hall of Famer. He's had a good career, no doubt - 1 MVP and 3 Gold Gloves. But for him to make the HOF, it won't be anytime in the next 20 years.

I have nothing against Larkin. But the fact remains that he has 2300+ hits, under 200 homers, and his career BA is slightly below .300. His MVP year was the only season he hit over 30 HRs. I do NOT think he's in the same class as Jeter & Nomar. I'd put him more in the class of Omar Vizquel - a defensive SS with an above average, but not great, bat.

I'd like to get Griffey (Sr) in there somewhere.

With the exception of Ernie Banks (who played half of his career at first base), Honus Wagner, and Robin Yount (who played a good part of his career in the outfield), Larkin's career statistics are comparable to or better than every other HOF shortstop.

The voters don't place that much of a premium on offensive numbers for shortstops, but Larkin's 190 career homers are more than any other shortstop who played his whole career there.

Here are the stats for all the modern shortstops and a few well-known players from yesteryear currently in:

AVG OBP SLG H HR RBI RUNS SB

Luis Aparicio
.262
.313
.343
2,677
83
791
1,335
506

Luke Appling
.310
.399
.398
2,749
45
1,116
1,319
179

Ernie Banks
.274
.333
.500
2,583
512
1,636
1,305
50

Lou Boudreau
.295
.380
.415
1,779
68
789
861
51

Joe Cronin
.301
.390
.468
2,285
170
1,424
1,233
87

Pee Wee Reese
.269
.366
.377
2,170
126
885
1,338
232

Phil Rizzuto
.273
.351
.355
1,588
38
563
877
149

Ozzie Smith
.262
.337
.328
2,460
28
793
1,257
580

Honus Wagner
.327
.391
.466
3,415
101
1,732
1,736
722

Robin Yount
.285
.346
.430
3,142
251
1,406
1,632
271

On the other hand, here's a shortstop with better offensive stats than most of those who are in....

Vern Stephens (1941-1955): 15 years, 1859 hits, 247, 1174, .286. He had three straight years, 1948-50, when he averaged 33 homers and 147 RBIs. True, he played in Fenway Park, but still....

Strangely enough, a shortstop who I think greatly resembles Larkin in offensive stats is his Cincinnatti predecessor, Dave Concepcion, who, you could argue, compared to the guys above also deserves election.

Obviously you can't compare Larkin to Jeter, Nomar, Tejeda, or A. Rod, assuming that all four complete their careers.

But the thing is, all four of them are also HOF shortstops.

Just because Larkin wasn't as good, that doesn't mean he doesn't belong.

(BTW, the year he hit his 33 homers was 1996. His MVP year was 1995.)

Barry Larkin is a beast. I think he will make the hall of fame easily. I don't like him to much but he will definately make it.