Larkin increases Rollins' HOF chances

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What happened Monday went a long way toward Jimmy Rollins reaching Cooperstown some day, and until Monday, I had never really entertained the possibility.

If he never plays another game, Rollins isn't even close, but lets face it, come 2021 its very possible. Reds shortstop Barry Larkin was selected to the Hall of Fame in his third time on the ballot, receiving 86 percent of the votes.

Statistically speaking, you can make the case that Larkins membership is a stretch. He never led MLB in any single category during a single season of his 19-year career. After inspecting Larkins career numbers (which are gospel to members of the BBWAA), I compared them to those of Rollins and I was surprised to see how close the two guys are even though Larkin has eight more years of service time.

Runs: Larkin-1,329, Rollins-1,080

Hits: Larkin-2,340, Rollins-1,866

HR: Larkin-198, Rollins-170

RBI: Larkin-960, Rollins-725

SB: Larkin-379, Rollins-373

If he plays out the next four seasons relatively healthy, Rollins will easily surpass Larkin in the five major aforementioned statistical categories.

Larkin does have a distinct advantage when it comes to batting average (.295 to Rollins' .272), which will clearly be held against J-Roll unless he can raise it over the next few years to the .280 plateau. And Larkin has nine more All-Star appearances than Rollins, which is an arbitrary talking point when it comes to Cooperstown credentials.

However, while Larkin has never led the league in any category, Rollins has led in triples four times, runs in 2007 and stolen bases in 2001. Both shortstops have won an MVP award, three gold gloves, and have led their respective franchises to a World Series title (Reds in 1990, Phillies in 2008), plus I take into consideration the swagger.

In the category of leadoff hitters, I look very closely at the membership in the 1500-500 club (1500 runs, 500 stolen bases) for long-term productivity. There are currently 18 players who have accomplished both milestones. Of those 18, 13 call Cooperstown home. Barry Bonds would be a shoe-in if it wasnt for the steroid cloud, and Tim Raines should be there but was overlooked again after receiving just 48 percent of votes.

If Rollins can maintain his career average of 107 runs and 37 stolen bases per season, he will likely become the 20th member and third shortstop of the 1500500 club in 2015. The other two -- Honus Wagner and George Davis -- have been in the Hall longer than Rollins has been alive.

When Rollins Phillies career comes to an end, you may have to build a tough and compelling reason to keep him out of Cooperstown.

E-mail John Boruk at jboruk@comcastsportsnet.com.

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