Larkin Protests Reds' Trades

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

July 4, 1998 / 10:51 PM EDT / CBS

Barry Larkin removed the small "C" that designates him the captain of the Cincinnati Reds from his uniform Saturday, a day after the club traded Lenny Harris.

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"C" was missing from above his No. 11 on the Reds' vest for a 5-4 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. Larkin said he has not resigned his position as captain, but was making a point.

"He (Harris) was the alternate captain," Larkin said. "We lost some of the heart out of our team by trading Lenny. That was my reaction. This is not a protest. He was the guy on this team that I called captain, so away went the 'C.' It's no big deal."

It was the latest development in Larkin's slowly eroding relationship with the Reds, who are rebuilding by trading away their veterans for prospects.

Friday, they sent Harris to the New York Mets for 31-year-old reliever John Hudek. He became a candidate for the closer's job when the Reds traded Jeff Shaw to Los Angeles Saturday for two prospects.

Earlier this season, Larkin asked the Reds to trade him because he doen't fit on a team that won't contend for years. He'll probably be dealt this month.

Larkin joked he's looking into a way to honor the numbers of those who have been traded away this season.

" I'm going to talk to the tailors and see if they can stitch a lot of numbers where that 'C' was," Larkin said. "There might be an 11 there."

Manager Jack McKeon didn't care to talk about Larkin's decision.

"What's the big deal? I never saw the 'C' on his shirt," McKeon said. "When I get to the point where I'm worrying about things like that, I'm in bad shape."