Barry Larkin
Barry Larkin
Barry Louis Larkinis a retired Major League Baseballplayer. Larkin played shortstop for the Cincinnati Reds from 1986 to 2004 and was one of the pivotal players on the 1990 Reds' World Series championship team. Larkin was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in January 2012 and was inducted on July 22, 2012...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionBaseball Player
Date of Birth28 April 1964
CityCincinnati, OH
CountryUnited States of America
If you can prove a guy did cheat, then I don't believe he belongs. I don't believe that there are any guys that did cheat, in that respect, that are in the Hall of Fame. So I think opening up the doors to guys that admittedly cheated or are proven that they did cheat, it kills the integrity of what the Hall of Fame stands for.
I'm glad that I just played baseball, because I'm sure I had a much longer baseball career than I would've had a football career. I did miss football, but I didn't miss some of the injuries from football.
The stance I took was there is no room for racial bias anywhere in sports. I believe that was basically all I said about it. Certainly I was cast as an abolitionist. Death threats came. Hate mail came.
I have a love for Shea Stadium and its fans. I had so much fun with the fans. Yeah, they booed me. I was like, 'I know, I know.'
I see it as a responsibility of mine to teach others.
I think every player wants to be acknowledged for what they have done. I think every player eligible for the Hall Of Fame feels that the ultimate validation is enshrinement.
I love boxing. I like to see the strategizing. Watching the warriors go to work. I like that struggle, going out there and fighting.
My message to a lot of guys is, if you like school and you like education, baseball is gonna be there, and you can get some of the same great competition in college that you do in the low minor leagues.