He realized he could no longer be an everyday shortstop in the major leagues, he said, and he was OK with that. He talked almost matter-of-factly about what Mother Nature was doing to him in the waning days of his career and he did it with no apparent emotion or regret.

Back then we thought we were seeing the last of Larkin as a player. He was in the final year of a three-year, $27-million contract, vastly overpaid in the minds of many fans. It seemed a sad way to say goodbye to one of the best players to wear a Reds' uniform.

This is more like it.

PHOTO GALLERY

Photos of Saturday's game

Back for one last go-around for $700,000 plus a possible $300,000 in performance bonuses, Larkin is now a bargain. And while the baseball world marvels, and rightfully so, at the things that Barry Bonds is doing at the age of 39, perhaps it's time to pause and notice what Larkin is doing at the age of 40.

Most of us consider playing slow-pitch softball at the age of 40 quite a feat. And if we're playing at all, we're catching or manning first base so we don't have to run much. Despite his pronouncement last year that he could no longer play short on an everyday basis, that's exactly what Larkin is doing.

He hit a two-run homer Saturday that broke a 2-2 tie in the Reds' 5-3 win over the Giants, raised his batting average to .306 and started an inning-ending double play on a ground ball in the hole with the bases loaded in the fifth and the score tied at two.

He has yet to make an error this season.

"I'm just playing the game," Larkin said. "I'm healthy and I'm playing like a healthy player is supposed to play, I guess."

Reds manager Dave Miley, just two years older than Larkin, understands what it is to be 40 and regularly checks with his shortstop to see how he's feeling. Miley thought about giving him the day off Saturday because it was day game after a night game, but with a day game scheduled for today and an off day on Monday, Larkin said he could play.

"I'm sure there are days when he feels 40 years old," Miley said. "Some days I feel like 50."

Maybe Larkin would feel like 40 if he could only figure out what that means.

"I feel like a baseball player," Larkin said. "I don't know how I felt when I was 20. I don't know how I felt when I turned 30. I'm just playing baseball. I've got friends that are 25 and look like they're 100. I don't even think about it. I'm sure the guys out there on the mound aren't thinking, 'This guy's 40. Let's take it easy.' "

No, this isn't the Barry Larkin who won three Gold Gloves in the mid-90s, not the same player who in '96 became the first shortstop to produce 30 homers and 30 steals in the same season.

There are balls he used to reach with ease that he now misses by a step or two, but he still runs out every ground ball, still plays with the same intensity and is still the Reds' best option at shortstop.

"I'm doing things within my ability, which is different than it was some years ago," Larkin said. "I'm not out there hitting home runs and stealing bases. I'm not going 30-30. ... I'm not that type of player anymore."

What he is, according to first baseman Sean Casey, is a freak of nature.

"He jacks (the ball), still flies, he's still got a cannon," Casey said. "When he throws the ball to first, he's still got something really behind it. It's amazing."

If Larkin keeps this up all season, will he be out there next year when he's 41, though he has said this is his last season?

"I fully expect this to be my last year," Larkin said.

Enjoy him while you can.

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E-mail bkoch@enquirer.com

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