It was a long time coming, but the Reds announced Tuesday that they’d retire Barry Larkin’s No. 11 in a pregame ceremony on Aug. 25.
Larkin will join former Reds players Johnny Bench (No. 5), Joe Morgan (No. 8), David Concepcion (No. 13), Tex Kluszewski (No. 18), Frank Robinson (No. 20) and Tony Perez (No. 24) in having his number retired. The team also retired numbers for managers Fred Hutchinson (No. 1) and Sparky Anderson (No. 10).
Larkin was a 12-time All-Star and a one-time MVP who spent his entire 19-year career with the Reds, so it was odd that they waited so long to put his number up with the team’s other greats. That the move comes the same month of his Hall of Fame enshrinement probably isn’t a coincidence. However, the Reds aren’t one of those teams that only retire the numbers of Hall of Famers; neither Kluszewski nor Concepcion has made it to Cooperstown.