Larkin named to baseball Hall of Fame

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y., Jan. 9 (UPI) -- Shortstop Barry Larkin, who played his 19-year major league career with Cincinnati, has been voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, it was announced Monday.

Also entering the hall this year are former Chicago Cubs third baseman Ron Santo, who was voted in by the Veterans Committee, Ford C. Frick Award winner Tim McCarver and Spink Award winner Bob Elliot.

Larkin, a 12-time all-star, made it into the hall in his third year of eligibility. He was named on 495 ballots and received 86 percent of the vote by members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America, easily besting the 75 percent needed to make the grade.

Larkin hit .295 with 198 home runs, 960 RBI, 2,340 hits and 379 stolen bases for his career, winning a World Series ring in 1990. He won three Gold Gloves and was the National League Most Valuable Player in 1995.

The only players other than Larkin to gain more than 50 percent of the vote were pitcher Jack Morris, with 382 votes (66.7 percent); first baseman Jeff Bagwell, with 321 (56.0 percent); and reliever Lee Smith, with 290 (50.6 percent).

Bernie Williams, with 55 votes (9.6 percent), was the only first-year candidate to gain enough support to remain on the ballot. Juan Gonzalez, with 23 votes (4.0 percent), fell off the ballot in his second year of eligibility.

Others who will stay on the ballot for next year, in addition to Morris, Bagwell, Smith and Williams, are Mark McGwire, Fred McGriff, Don Mattingly, Rafael Palmeiro, Tim Raines, Dale Murphy, Larry Walker, Edgar Martinez and Alan Trammell.