ESPN has been bleeding MLB analysts in recent years – it seems like every couple of months, someone new heads to greener pastures. The latest name to join the fray – Barry Larkin, who is done with the network.
A report from The Big Lead indicates that Larkin is yearning to get a job within baseball, which makes sense – he (along with Manny Acta and Doug Glanville) was one of three ESPNers to interview for the Tampa Bay Rays managerial job this fall, which went to former Indians bullpen coach Kevin Cash. Larkin joined ESPN after a stint with MLB Network in 2011, and re-upped for multiple years in the spring of 2013.
Larkin was most prominently featured on the Sunday Night Baseball pre-game show with anchor Karl Ravech. Assuming ESPN goes forth with their Sunday Night Baseball booth of Dan Shulman, John Kruk, and Curt Schilling (which was derailed by Schilling’s cancer diagnosis before the season began), the most logical name to take the seat next to Ravech on the pre-game show would be Glanville. He’s a well-spoken, smart analyst that would thrive in an expanded role. Other possibilities could include Acta, Eduardo Perez, Mark Mulder, and Eric Wedge.
ESPN has been a pit stop over sorts in recent years for plenty of analysts, and that’s something I think they need to keep in mind when they hire ex-players and coaches to fill on-air roles. Not everyone is going to be Bill Cowher or Jon Gruden, staying away from the game for good to stick with TV. Larkin had been doing the TV thing for awhile, and I didn’t expect him to leave. But the lure of a job within the game was probably too strong, and there’s probably something more rewarding to him than an analyst role in his future.
