By Dan Yount
Th Cincinnati Herald
A stretch of road between Great American Ball Park and the Ohio River in Downtown Cincinnati will now be known as Barry Larkin Way.
I’m honored and humbled to be recognized by the City of Cincinnati. This community and the people of this city mean so much to my family and me. To have a street named after me in my hometown is unreal. I thank everyone who made this happen. Go Reds,” said Larkin at a ceremony April 3 along a portion of Mehring Way on the south side of Great American Ball Park between Joe Nuxhall Way and Broadway Street, which will be known as Barry Larkin Way.
Larkin was born in Cincinnati’s Silverton neighborhood in 1964 and attended Archbishop Moeller High School. He played college ball at the University of Michigan.
City Councilmember Victoria Parks, who-sponsored the street renaming, said Barry Larkin joined the Reds in 1986 and played his entire professional career in his hometown, amassing 12 All-Star selections, nine Silver Slugger Awards, three Gold Glove Awards and a National League MVP (1995).
Parks said, “This is a very special day for Cincinnati Reds’ fans. We are going to honor our home town hero with a gesture, that I hope, will let him know how much he means to us.
“Last fall, I received several e-mails from Andrea, cincykid1 wondering why there was no street named after our home town MLB Hall of Famer,” Parks said. “After all, Mr. Barry Larkin is one of the top players of his era, winning nine Silver Slugger awards, three Gold Glove awards, and the 1995 National League Most Valuable Player Award. He was selected to the Major League All-Star Game twelve times, and was one of the key players on the 1990 Reds’ wire-to wire World Series championship team. Larkin was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in January 2012 and was inducted on July 22, 2012.
“As a baseball fan myself, I agreed with her and got busy looking into how to fix this oversight.
“Barry, you brought so much joy and pride to our city. Your athleticism, style, grace and dedication to your trade have been an example for all of us. Cincinnati thanks you. I thank you.
Larkin was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 2008. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2012 with 86.4 percent of the vote.
He joined the Reds as an instructor in the minor leagues in 2015 and was noncommittal about his aspirations for the role of manager, then occupied by Bryan Price.
Larkin has commented on Reds broadcasts since 2021.
Councilmember Scotty Johnson, a lifetime friend of Larkin, said Larkin’s “greatness had to do with his longevity, integrity and class. Even on the Silverton school, team, this guy could hit. And he was about winning and competition, but doing it the right way.” Johnson noted that Larkin had an opportunity to play with some of The Big Red Machine’s greats, such as Pete Rose.
Larkin also commented he loved representing the City and the Reds.
