Latest news with #BarryLarkin
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Here's Elly De La Cruz's latest historical feat for the Reds
When Elly De La Cruz reached 100 base hits for 2025 against the Miami Marlins, it earned him more places in Cincinnati Reds history. De La Cruz's first-inning single against the Miami Marlins made him the third player in Reds history to reach 100 hits before baseball's All-Star break, and it aligned him with two Reds and baseball Hall of Famers. Advertisement De La Cruz became the second primary shortstop in Reds history with 100 hits before the All-Star break and joined National Baseball Hall of Famer Barry Larkin in that feat, according to team officials. Elly De La Cruz joined Hall of Famer Barry Larkin as the only Reds shortstops to have 100 hits before the All-Star break when he singled in the first inning against the Miami Marlins Thursday, July 10. Larkin accomplished the feat in 1989 with 107 hits and again in 1993 with 109 hits. De la Cruz has three games against the Rockies to add to his total, which climbed to 101 later in Thursday's game against the Marlins. De La Cruz also earned a spot next to Pete Rose's name as Rose was first Reds player to reach 100 hits pre-All-Star Game. Rose did that 12 times in his career. So, this class of players was 100 hits before the break now includes Rose, Larkin, and De La Cruz. That's quite an array of Reds players. Advertisement Following the Reds' three-game set with the Colorado Rockies at Great American Ball Park starting Friday, July 11, De La Cruz will head to Atlanta for the 2025 MLB All-Star Game, where he's making an appearance for the second consecutive year. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Here's Elly De La Cruz's latest historical feat for the Reds
Yahoo
29-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
'More respect for Dave Parker than anybody': Baseball greats remember Cincinnati legend
Just how powerful was the 6-foot-5, 230-pound force of nature they called 'The Cobra' back in the day? Powerful enough that long before Cincinnati legend Dave Parker, who died at the age of 74 Saturday, June 28, won his own long-awaited place in baseball's Hall of Fame, he helped open the path for another Cincinnati-raised player to reach Cooperstown. Advertisement And just maybe powerful enough that his lasting impact helped the Reds win a championship three years after he last played for them. Just ask Barry Larkin, the Cincinnati-born Hall of Fame shortstop, about the night Parker and the young Eric Davis backed him into the dimly lit corner of the Riverfront Stadium tunnel near the Reds' batting cage. Hall of Famers Barry Larkin and Dave Parker before a game in 1987. 'They told me after a game one day they wanted to work on my hitting out in the cages,' said Larkin, a happy-to-be-there, third shortstop on manager Pete Rose's team. So Larkin grabbed his bat after the game, headed out the clubhouse door and turned the corner to the cage, only to find a hallway so dim and quiet it looked empty. Advertisement Reds Dave Parker death Pittsburgh Pirate Dave Parker, ex-Reds/Pirates great, dies 1 month before Hall of Fame induction: reactions Reds San Diego Padres Andrew Abbott Andrew Abbott bolstered his case for the MLB All-Star Game but the Reds lost to the Padres 'So I start walking back into the clubhouse,' he said. Then came a voice from the shadows. 'Dave Parker says, 'No, m—-, bring your a— out here!' Larkin trudged toward the voice, heart racing, to where Parker and Davis waited. 'They impressed upon me that I needed to start playing with more of a sense of urgency,' Larkin said, 'and they impressed upon me that if I did not change and start playing with more of a sense of urgency that it was going to be a major problem physically for me.' Advertisement At which point Parker dismissed him abruptly with a few more choice words. 'I walked in the clubhouse,' Larkin said, 'and was like, 'Oh, my God. What in the world is going on here?' ' The next day he approached Davis — 'not Dave because I was scared as crap of Dave' — to make sure he had the details he needed to follow the orders he couldn't refuse. Most of it had to do with a more aggressive approach at the plate. Barely a year later, Larkin was an All-Star. Cincinnati Reds teammates Eric Davis, left, Dave Parker and Kal Daniels warming up before their exhibition game against Montreal Expos at Greer Stadium April 5, 1987. 'That was a tipping point in my career,' he said. 'I was just happy to be along (until then). Until those boys threatened my life.' Parker's impact was sudden and so outsized when he joined his hometown team as a free agent after the 1983 season that Davis called him "Pops" and Larkin called him one of the three most influential forces that helped that young core develop into what became the 1990 World Series champion – after all were gone. That included Rose and veteran outfielder Ken Griffey. Advertisement Larkin shouted out Parker's bigger than life influence during his Hall of Fame speech in 2012. New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza pauses for a moment of silence to honor Pittsburgh Pirates former Hall of Fame right fielder Dave Parker on his passing before the game against the Pirates at PNC Park Saturday, June 28. But Parker was bigger than life to those who played long before he contributed to his hometown team for four years. He was one of the most feared hitters in baseball in the 1970s, with a hitting prowess matched only by the strength of his charisma and personality, and a right-field arm for the ages. Contemporaries who openly questioned what took so long for him to get elected to the Hall of Fame just six months ago now grapple with the cruelty of his death Saturday after a long illness coming just one month before he might have enjoyed the glow of his Cooperstown induction. Advertisement 'I ended up playing with Dave twice, here and Milwaukee, and I grew up in Pittsburgh watching him,' said Reds manager Terry Francona, who learned of Parker's death just before game time Saturday. 'I know he was sick; we all did. But I wished he could have been in Cooperstown this summer to get his Hall of Fame plaque. I know how I felt about it. I can't imagine how he would have.' JULY 11, 1976: The Pirates' Dave Parker slides into third base advancing from first on double in fifth inning against the Reds. He comes up, signals time to retrieve his lost cap, then is sent sprawling as Pete Rose bowls him over with a late tag. Never mind why the recognition took so long. 'The superstar players of that era all knew how good he was,' said All-Star closer Kent Tekulve, another Cincinnati native who was Parker's teammate in Pittsburgh and a one-time Red in the immediate aftermath of Parker's time at Riverfront. Advertisement 'What I didn't know when he went from Pittsburgh to Cincinnati with all those young guys on that team, he became the guy,' Tekulve said. 'He became the Stargell of the Cincinnati Reds when he went there. 'He was already gone when I got there. And they were still talking about what Dave Parker meant to them.' 'I had more respect for Dave Parker than probably anybody,' said Paul O'Neill, who debuted in 1985 and went on to become a five-time All-Star. 'When I got called up he was the right fielder, and I was on the bench watching how he went about things. He was a great player; there's no other way to put it. He was the kind of guy that would talk to the younger players. 'It's certainly well deserved he's in the Hall of Fame. I don't know why it took so long.' Advertisement Even in failing health in December, Parker — who battled Parkinson's Disease for more than a decade — showed the power of his personality during a conference call with media up on his election, saying what he remembers of the time with the Reds was 'I was the best player they had.' The City of Cincinnati and the Cincinnati Reds recognized Reds hall of fame baseball player Dave Parker, center, with an honorary street naming near his childhood home in the South Cumminsville neighborhood of Cincinnati, Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023. Borden Street at Elmore Street received the honorary, secondary name of Dave Parker Way He got no argument from Davis, even if that was long after Parker's days of his batting titles, his 1978 MVP and the days of swinging a sledgehammer in the on-deck circle in Pittsburgh. "He was the best player. Oh, yeah,' Davis said. 'I was 21 years old when we had just gotten him from Pittsburgh in '84, and I can remember the first time I saw him I was still in awe. I went up to introduce myself, and the first thing he said was, 'I know who you are. Get out of the way; I'll talk to you a little later.' Advertisement 'That was his way of breaking the ice. But he took care of me. I didn't pay for anything for two years. I didn't buy nothing. He took me everywhere. The only thing I had to do was I had to be the first one down to the limo because he wouldn't wait.' That's the guy teammates remember even all these years later, the boisterous, fun, hard-hitting, hard-laughing giant. 'He was a hoot,' Tekulve said. Even in 1976 as a young player with Willie Stargell's Pirates, Parker showed up to the clubhouse one day with a T-shirt inspired by music he and teammates listened to, emblazoned with a slogan meant to inspire a briefly slumping lineup and that became an iconic part of his Pirates legacy: 'If You Hear Any Noise It's Just Me And The Boys Boppin.' Advertisement 'It caught on and people liked it,' Parker said in December. 'But don't try to copyright it. Because it's mine.' Whether his publicized role in the Pittsburgh drug trials of the 1980s or a media perception of his personality as brash or out of place for a young player – especially a young black player in 1970s baseball – impacted how long it took to get to the Hall of Fame, it was 33 days after he last played a game that he finally made it. 'I'm looking forward to being there. I've been holding this speech in for 15 years,' Parker said the day he finally got the call. He had just turned 74 when he died. Advertisement He didn't get to make his speech. But he did leave behind a generation indebted to him. 'He probably had more impact on young players than any player I've ever been around,' Davis said. 'Black, white, it didn't matter.' And at his size, 'to be able to move the way that he did with the cachet that he had — he made the game cool for Blacks,' Davis said. 'His game was swagger. He had a style and the cachet to back up his game.' It probably said a lot about his personality and character that he was able to succeed to the heights he did, not only as quickly as he did but also as the man who would replace the icon in Pittsburgh – Parker debuting as the right field heir apparent to the right fielder of all-time, Roberto Clemente, just months after Clemente's New Year's Eve 1972 death in a plane crash while on a humanitarian mission. Advertisement 'His ability was off the charts when he first showed up,' Tekulve said. The rare combination of elite ability and elite charisma might have made him the right guy at the right time in that right field. 'His personality, his confidence, his swagger — all that stuff really helped him in the beginning of his career,' Tekulve said. 'He came in after Clemente and not much dropped off. Definitely personality wise they were different.' The arm, maybe not quite as different. Francona said he remembers being a kid in Pittsburgh watching the Pirates' All-Star throw out runners at third and home during the 1979 All-Star game – the latter one of the most famous throws by an outfielder in the last half-decade. Advertisement 'Then to get to play with him, it's pretty cool,' Francona said. 'I caught him toward the end of his career. He was funny. You could mess with him — not too much.' The transformation from prospect without a chance to fill an all-time legend's shoes to superstar in his own right was almost as much a physical transformation as it was the power of will and public persuasion. 'When I first saw Dave Parker, he was not skinny like me, but he was thin. Well built but not the big man that he became,' Tekulve said. 'He'd hit a ball to the left side and beat it out.' At one point in Parker's early days in Pittsburgh, All-Star leader Willie 'Pops' Stargell looked at the skinny young outfielder and said, 'He's going to be bigger and stronger He needs to change his swing to put power into it.' Advertisement Parker, a natural line drive hitter, revamped his swing to drive the ball more and wound up not only winning batting titles but becoming one of the most feared sluggers in the game in his prime. His first full season in the majors, he hit .308 with 25 home runs and led the league in slugging in 1975. Two years later he won the first of back-to-back batting titles and earned the first of seven All-Star selections. By 1978, he was the National League MVP — snapping a streak of three straight years of Big Red Machine MVPs. 'His size, his tenacity — just a great baseball player,' O'Neill said. 'A great athlete, period.' Advertisement And by the time the Courter Tech grad returned to Cincinnati, he did it as a star and mentor, whether he was the best player on the team or not. 'He was the guy,' Larkin said. 'He set the tone in the clubhouse, how we prepared, how loose the clubhouse was. After the game, Dave was a big yapper. He liked to talk a lot. He had this football mentality and tried to inspire us with verbal cues.' Verbal cues. That's one way to describe the voice from the shadows of that Riverfront Stadium tunnel that night 40 years ago. And Larkin would know. 'He was amazing.' This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 'More respect for Dave Parker than anybody': How 'Cobra' paid it forward
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Barry Larkin blames poor communication for Elly De La Cruz hesitation on Yankees' run
Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz appeared to hesitate on a relay to home plate as the New York Yankees' Ben Rice scored on a sacrifice fly in the 5th inning by Anthony Volpe. Fanduel Sports Network analyst Barry Larkin, a National Baseball Hall of Famer and former Reds great, said De La Cruz's indecision over where to throw could've been avoided. Advertisement "Elly's back is to the play, so the assumption's that the runner is tagging," Larkin said. "And the throw just comes in (late). There's got to be a lot of communication. They've got to be screaming at Elly because his back is to the play. He can't forecast that." Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz attempts to field the ball against the New York Yankees "Yeah, but that's where his teammates need to be telling him, 'Home! Home! Home!'" play-by-play announcer John Sadak said. "Correct," Larkin added. "Yeah, Elly's back is to that runner at third base. And you don't want to assume anything. But I'm assuming he just reacted to the crowd - the crowd noise." Advertisement Reds manager Terry Francona met with De La Cruz to discuss his baserunning gaffe during Cincinnati's 5-4 win in extra innings, and De La Cruz vowed that it wouldn't happen again. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Barry Larkin blames poor communication for Elly De La Cruz hesitation
Associated Press
19-06-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Orlando Dreamers Respond to Announcement that Tampa Bay Rays in Discussions with Potential Buyer
Dreamers' control ownership group was not surprised by announcement. Nothing changes for the Orlando MLB initiative as the Dreamers continue moving forward to the next phase in their process of bringing Major League Baseball to Orange County. ORLANDO, FL / ACCESS Newswire / June 19, 2025 / The Orlando City Baseball Dreamers ('Orlando Dreamers'), fresh off the first public appearance of team leadership on June 16 at the International Drive Chamber of Commerce luncheon with record attendance and media coverage, today responded to an announcement that the Tampa Bay Rays are in discussions with a group interested in potentially buying the team. Barry Larkin, the MLB Ambassador for the Dreamers, confirmed that the media reports indicating the Rays were in discussions with a possible buyer group did not come as a surprise. 'We have been aware of various groups indicating interest in potentially acquiring the franchise. Multiple prospective groups have reached out to more than one of the key people affiliated with the Dreamers over recent months. This does not complicate our mission, nor does it change our plans for aggressively moving forward to the next phase of our initiative. We plan to open our downtown office in the very near future and we are laser-focused on finalizing the public side of the public/private partnership. We continue to see Orange County and the greater Orlando area as an unsurpassed market for the next MLB location,' he said. Rick Workman, the anchor investor in the control ownership group for the Dreamers, further elaborated on Larkin's comments. 'The enthusiasm for bringing MLB to our designated 35.5-acre site in the middle of the tourist corridor in Orange County is clearly at a fever pitch. We have put in place all of the key team-side pillars that Major League Baseball requires for an area to qualify for a franchise. Orlando is undeniably the top market in the country without a franchise. We have an unparalleled site for our venue, right in the middle of 80 million tourists this year, and our stadium design will be the most impressive in all of baseball. With my partner, John Morgan, in the ownership group, we are local owners committed to delivering transformative benefits to Orange County and Central Florida with this initiative. Hall-of-Famer Barry Larkin provides us the baseball intuition and connectivity to round out a highly impressive leadership team,' he said. John Morgan, the other primary investor in the control ownership group, owns many successful businesses across the country, including operations in the International Drive area near the indicated stadium site. He indicated that he had been approached by people vying to purchase the Rays, with plans to keep the team in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area. 'While that's a fine region, as an investor I made clear I had no interest in making a financial commitment if the team was going to remain there. For Major League Baseball, the Tampa area does not compare with Orange County. Central Florida is growing faster than Tampa-St. Pete, which is limited by elevation, water, and other challenges, especially when it comes to finding the right location for a large sports venue. In comparison, Orlando continues rapidly expanding in every direction. And don't forget: tourism matters. Las Vegas is a great example of why tourism helps sports teams succeed, and Orange County will get about double the number of tourists this year as Las Vegas will welcome,' according to Morgan. Jim Schnorf, Co-Founder of the Orlando Dreamers who has been coordinating the team acquisition and stadium financing, added further commentary. 'We have letters of intent from highly qualified investors approaching $1.5 billion in equity financing towards MLB team acquisition and have been very purposeful in limiting the investor pool at this point, despite continued strong interest from numerous other interested investor parties. The Dreamers are fully confident of arranging any supplemental senior debt financing that might be relevant to supplement the equity investment already identified. Our separate stadium funding letter of intent from a major institutional partner will provide more than $1 billion towards the team portion of construction costs, under an arrangement that is highly attractive to Orange County government and citizens, team ownership, and Major League Baseball. Senior representatives from our stadium financing source visited with us in Orlando earlier this week, further emphasizing their heightened interest in our stadium initiative.' Schnorf also reconfirmed Barry Larkin's comments at the June 16 luncheon that the Dreamers have multiple 'trips to the plate' in regards to opportunities to attain an MLB team. 'Pat Williams and I launched this mission when Major League Baseball announced the intent to expand by two teams. It was coincidental that the Rays encountered insurmountable challenges with the unexpected damage to Tropicana Field last fall and the subsequent inability to satisfactorily conclude a new stadium solution. The media has focused in recent months on this option for Orlando to acquire a team. However, there are multiple other MLB teams that also have stadium challenges, in addition to two expansion slots that will be added,' he confirmed. Schnorf concluded by saying, 'We believe it is unlikely that a sale of the Rays can consummate without an affirmative stadium site and stadium financing solution in place, steps which are very challenging and time consuming, but that we are fortunate to have under control. Regardless of the circumstances with the Rays and their discussions with any prospective buyer group, the Dreamers are continuing to move forward in concluding the final aspects of our initiative. With all the recent progress over the past 90 days, we have demonstrated that we are fully prepared for any opportunity to bring Major League Baseball to Orange County.' Orlando is experiencing a surge in tourism with meaningful growth expected from the recent opening of the new Universal Epic Universe theme park located a short distance from the Dreamers' proposed stadium site. The Orlando metro area is the most-visited destination in the country and recently passed Denver to become the #15 media market in the country. It is anticipated that Orlando will pass Detroit in 2025 to become the #14 media market in the country, the largest without an MLB team. The Orlando Dreamers previously reported that based on an independent study completed in 2023, bringing Major League Baseball to Orlando and playing in the planned domed stadium located on the 35.5 acre parcel adjacent to SeaWorld and the Orange County Convention Center will yield approximately 25,000 permanent jobs and create in excess of $40 billion in economic impact to Orange County over 30 years. In addition, the study concluded that the MLB initiative would generate an additional $26 million annually in tourist development taxes (TDT). About Orlando City Baseball Dreamers, LLC Orlando City Baseball Dreamers, LLC was established to bring Major League Baseball to Orlando and Central Florida. Updates can be found at Contact: Dave Gentry RedChip Companies 1-800-733-2447 [email protected] SOURCE: Orlando City Baseball Dreamers, LLC press release
Washington Post
14-05-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
The Reds will pay tribute to Pete Rose a day after he was posthumously reinstated by MLB
CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Reds are paying tribute to Pete Rose on Wednesday night, a day after baseball's career hits leader was posthumously removed from the major leagues' permanent ineligibility list. The Reds are handing out a replica No. 14 Rose jersey to fans in attendance for their game against the Chicago White Sox. They are holding a pregame panel with former Rose teammates George Foster and Ken Griffey Sr., along with Barry Larkin and Eric Davis — who played for Rose when he managed the Reds. Members of Rose's family are slated to deliver the game ball and serve as honorary captains. Rose, who died in September at age 83, played for the Reds in 19 of his 24 seasons, winning two of his three World Series championships with his hometown team. His career was tarnished by a gambling scandal that led to a permanent ban on Aug. 23, 1989. An investigation commissioned by Major League Baseball concluded Rose — a 17-time All-Star who finished with 4,256 hits — repeatedly bet on the Reds as a player and manager of the team from 1985-87, a violation of a long-standing MLB rule. Commissioner Rob Manfred announced Tuesday he was changing the league's policy on permanent ineligibility, saying bans would expire at death. While Rose's gambling ban made him a baseball pariah, that was never the case in a city that proudly embraces its status as the home of the oldest major league team. He was almost uniformly beloved in his native Cincinnati for his all-out playing style and his connection to the Big Red Machine — the dominant Reds teams in the mid-1970s. ___ AP MLB:
