Barry Larkin can rescue the Cincinnati Reds‘ entire organization.
The sooner Larkin is named manager of the team, the better, primarily because the Reds’ need a permanent manager in place right now. Larkin would be the ideal force to guide a young Reds’ team rising from the ashes the Reds have left on the field over the past three years.
Larkin is nearly as identifiable with Cincinnati as Pete Rose. The native son Larkin played all of his 19-year career with the Reds. He led the wire-to-wire 1990 Reds to a World Series championship.
The Reds certainly could use a true Cincinnati connection. Larkin seems uniquely qualified to provide that hometown persona at this time.
Larkin currently serves as a Reds’ roving minor-league instructor. He and former Reds’ 1990 teammate Eric Davis were in the dugout of the Reds’ Double-A affiliate in Pensacola over the Fourth of July weekend.
The Reds should promote both Larkin and Davis. Both former Reds have the credentials to develop the younger Reds’ players in the big leagues. Both seem committed to coaching.
The other driver for a Larkin hire is a dwindling fan base. The sooner Larkin is hired, the less fan hemorrhaging takes place. Back-to-back disastrous years are taking a toll on the patience of Reds’ fans.
The Reds’ home attendance would be an even bleaker picture than it already is, if not for a three-day tribute to Pete Rose and the 1976 World Series championship Big Red Machine team this year. Those three games from June 24-26 drew over 120,000 of the Reds’ 1,067,229 total in 43 home games so far. The Reds currently risk drawing the fewest fans at home since 2009.
Reds’ fans seduced by the allure of postseason baseball may succumb to the temptation of supporting other teams in contention. Those bandwagon and frontrunner fans may be Reds’ fans at heart but could decide a team seemingly going nowhere for a long time doesn’t deserve their passion in the future.
Reds’ fans who are fair-weather fans aren’t always bandwagon jumpers. But they won’t be back until the Reds’ ownership and management show they have enough competence to put a winning team back on the field.
Hiring Larkin would be a pivotal step in that direction.
Robb Hoff writes about the Cincinnati Reds for OutsidePitch MLB. You can follow him on Twitter and Facebook.
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