Well, probably, at least—it's easy to forget about Barry Larkin because his injury-proneness was always so foregrounded. By the time I started watching a lot of baseball—especially NL Central baseball, for obvious reasons—he wasn't a Hall-caliber player, he was that guy who played really well when he was healthy. He also had the misfortune of splitting his peak between the pre- and post-"steroids" eras. But his stats are outstanding, in any era, and on Hall of Fame voting day it's worth taking one more look at them, as he hopes to exceed his opening total of 51.6%.
↵Few players have been helped more by the increasing compartmentalization and recombination of baseball stats than Larkin, who provided positive value in nearly every category. Offense? He had a career OBP of .371, peaking at .410 in 1996, and a slugging percentage of .444, peaking that same year at .567. Through their age-36 seasons Larkin was a better hitter than surefire Hall God Derek Jeter. Defense? He played a premium position and he was never less than competent, even at 40. Baserunning? He stole 379 bases at an 83% success rate.
↵51% is a nice place to start, and I was surprised by the initial support Larkin received from the Hall electorate. But his well-roundedness is always worth revisiting.
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