Henry Larkin

[Cowtipper]

Henry Larkin played for ten seasons, from 1884 to 1893. He played in three different leagues - the AA, PL and NL - hitting a combined .303 with an OPS+ of 141.

He was fairly proficient with the extra base hits, leading the league in doubles twice and EXBH once, and finishing in the top ten in the latter category five times. He also led the league in times on base once.

Statistically, Larkin is similar to one Hall of Famer: Ross Youngs. The other players he is similar to are Oyster Burns, Elmer Smith, Curt Walker, John Reilly, Tip O'Neill, John Stone, Chick Stahl, Carl Reynolds and Roy Johnson.

What do you think about Henry Larkin? Was his career far too short?

[SABR Matt]

Larkin is an interesting player.

He didn't last all that long, but he did have 10 solid years in the era of rapid LQ improvement. Two things keep me from voting yes here...

1) He was a first baseman, so the bar is VERY high for him to reach
2) He was a terrible fielder (and I do mean terrible)

If he's been as good a fielder as Connor or played third base or something, he'd have a shot. But it's no for me.

[KCGHOST]

Just too short a career.

[jjpm74]

If I have to look a player up to see who they are from this era, they do not belong in the HOF.

[Paul Wendt]

If I have to look a player up to see who they are from this era, they do not belong in the HOF.
What about players from the 1920s or 1960s or 1990s whom I need to look up?

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Henry Larkin was a strong batter for the Philadelphia Athletics in the 1880s. The team used Harry Stovey at first with Larkin in the outfield, then Stovey in the outfield with Larkin at first. During the transition Larkin played LF-CF and Stovey CF-1B, including some 1886 games in the outfield side by side.

Bill James doesn't give many F grades, based on fielding win shares, and he doesn't manage to discredit Henry Larkin so severely as that at firstbase, merely a D-. He does give the F to our own Frank Thomas the Younger

James uses a fixed minimum number of career innings to define fielding careers for purposes of published letter grades. Evidently Stovey (B+ at outfield) and Larkin (D- at first) qualify for grades only in that configuration, thanks partly to the longer schedules in effect from 1886.

James gives a C- at thirdbase to another Athletics star of the same time, Denny Lyons (whose thread is open next door). Lou Bierbauer, "an Athletic" during the first four of his 10+ regular seasons, gets an A- at secondbase. There was no consistent shortstop, not even for three full seasons.