Third year is the charm for Barry Larkin

In the last year, the baseball writers sure warmed up to Barry Larkin. At least 134 of them did.

Almost a quarter of the voters who didn't vote for Larkin in 2011 cast their ballots for him a year later, a landslide vote into Cooperstown on Monday for perhaps the best shortstop of the 1990s, a man who played his entire career in Cincinnati and won an MVP, a World Series and three Gold Gloves. Compared to other shortstops already in Cooperstown, he was a shoo-in.

He was never a dominant player, but was always regarded as a great teammate and leader. If he had played in a big market, he'd be revered like Derek Jeter, another workmanlike shortstop from the Midwest.

It took three years for Larkin to get in, which might seem like a slap in the face until you look at history. Another player who had to wait until his third year: Joe DiMaggio. (What were those writers thinking?) Check out this breakdown of Hall of Fame players, sorted by how long they were on the ballot.

It was a good year to be on the ballot if you weren't a first-timer. Every player but one - even those accused or who admitted steroid use - received more votes than last year. (The one who didn't was Juan Gonzalez, who slid below 5 percent and will be off the ballot.) As expected, the only first-year player on the ballot who will stay next season is Bernie Williams, who received a tepid 9.6 percent.

Jack Morris made a nice leap from 53.5 percent to 66.6 percent from the writers. No player has received that much support and not made the Hall eventually. He has two more years of eligibility and seems to be following the Bert Blyleven path to Cooperstown. Jeff Bagwell (56.0 percent, +14.3%) and Tim Raines (48.7 percent, +11.2%) also have to feel better about their chances down the road.

Breakdown: 2012 Baseball Hall of Fame voting

Barry Larkin profile

Hall of Famers, sorted by years on ballot