He got the message
By Craig Muder
Barry Larkin discovered exactly what it means to be a Hall of Famer Monday afternoon.
“I got the call to say I had been elected,” Larkin said. “And the next thing I knew I had 400 text messages to respond to. I’m down to 298 now.”
It will take Larkin weeks to respond to all the congratulatory notes he received after becoming the 24th shortstop elected to the Hall of Fame. His phone was filled with messages from ESPN co-workers like Karl Ravech and former teammates like Hall of Famer Tony Perez.
But the one message that almost didn’t get through belonged to a special fan.
“My daughter told me someone had called for me… She said it was Ben or Bub…,” Larkin said. “I said: ‘You mean Bud? Bud Selig?’ I couldn’t believe the Commissioner took time to call.
“It’s wonderful how many people have called or sent messages. You just can’t believe the outpouring of support.”
The incredibly humble Larkin is a favorite throughout the baseball community for his skill on the field and character off it. Few generate the universally positive reaction he draws, and it seems all of Cincinnati is celebrating the election of their hometown hero.
The Class of 2012 couldn’t be classier.
Craig Muder is the director of communications of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
Is it just me or does Craig Muder look like Pete Rose?
Now the hit king should be in the hall of fame.
Yeah, I thought that is who it was, too. LOL … it’s the only way Rose will get in to the HOF. His stats shows he should be there. But, he broke the rules causing him to be ineligible. Consequently, he doesn’t get in. He knew what he was doing … he lied about it … and it cost him the penalty he knew existed.