By Kevin Kelly
The Cincinnati Enquirer

PHOTO GALLERY

Barry Larkin photo gallery

The professional accomplishments are well-documented. But it has been off the field, in private moments away from prying eyes, where shortstop Barry Larkin has done some of his best work in 18 seasons with the Reds.

The personal touches define the man to those who know him best.

"I don't look at him as a veteran guy you shy away from approaching," Cincinnati outfielder Austin Kearns said. "It seems like he's just a guy you've grown up with and made friends with for your life."

That is why the news that the Reds and Larkin could not reach an agreement to bring back the 11-time All-Star for another season hit the clubhouse in its collective gut.

"It's upsetting for a lot of us," Kearns said.

Shining through yet another dreadful season were tales about how Larkin captained the only team he has ever known.

"He was the talent, the leader and the kind of guy I've always looked up to," Sean Casey said. "To not see him in the clubhouse would be weird. Not to see him on the bench. Not to see him out at shortstop."

Outfielder Adam Dunn first encountered Larkin prior to his first big-league spring training in 2000.

"You sit in your locker and don't really say anything," Dunn said. "Barry walked up and put his arm around me and treated me like I had been there for 10 years."

The two have become the type of friends that lunch and ride to the ballpark together.

"He's been as good as you can be," Dunn said. "No matter what happens with baseball, he'll probably be a lifelong friend."

Kearns had an experience similar to Dunn's while preparing for the Florida Instructional League in 1998.

Larkin walked over to the teen.

"He said, 'If there's anything you need, anything I can do for you, if you ever have any problems, come talk to me and let me know,' " Kearns recalled. "That's something I've always remembered since I came up. That's just who (he) is."

Part of that nurturing has been teaching young players about respecting the game, but doing so without causing a scene.

As a rookie catcher in 1999, Jason LaRue grabbed Larkin's attention when he watched a fly ball drop for a double against Chicago. Larkin later approached LaRue and stressed the need to run out every ball.

"I've come to respect it," LaRue said. "I was very thankful that he said something in that situation."

What Larkin says sometimes has not been as significant as how he says it. The 39-year-old is fluent in Spanish, meaning he can communicate with Latino players who often feel alienated.

"It's very helpful to have a guy like him with all that experience who knows how to talk to you in Spanish," infielder Juan Castro said.

Larkin's departure will leave a void in the Reds clubhouse, one that will have to be filled by several players.

"It needs to be a team effort," LaRue said. "We're all going to have to police ourselves. If something has to be said, it doesn't matter who it is. If somebody is not playing the game right, it doesn't matter who says it. That's the way it needs to be. That's the way it's going to have to be."