Barry Larkin will be the newest member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, joining the Class of 2012 as the sole member elected by the Baseball Writers' Association of America, it was announced on Monday.

12-time All-Star Barry Larkin was the only member of the 2012 Hall of Fame class chosen by the BBWAA. He was selected on 86.4 percent of ballots.

The 12-time National League All-Star shortstop and three-time Gold Glove Award winner, who played his entire 19-year career for his hometown Cincinnati Reds, garnered 86 percent of the vote.

Last year, Larkin finished third behind inductees Roberto Alomar and Bert Blyleven when his name appeared on 62.1 percent of the ballots cast. It was Larkin's third year on the ballot.

Larkin will be inducted into the Hall during this year's ceremonies on July 21-22 in Cooperstown, N.Y., joining legendary Cubs third baseman Ron Santo, who was elected posthumously to the Hall last month by the Golden Era Committee. They will be inducted on July 22 behind the Clark Sports Center. Ford C. Frick Award winner Tim McCarver and J.G. Taylor Spink Award electee Bob Elliott will be honored in a separate ceremony on July 21 at Doubleday Field.

Larkin was a nine-time Silver Slugger winner, a member of the Reds squad that swept the A's in the 1990 World Series and the NL Most Valuable Player in 1995.

His .295 lifetime batting average was 33 points higher than that of Cardinals shortstop Ozzie Smith, who was elected predominantly for his defense in 2002. Cal Ripken Jr., elected along with Padres right fielder Tony Gwynn on the first ballot for both men in 2007, hit .277 as a shortstop, the position he played for most of his stellar 21-year career with the Orioles.

Among the notable first-timers on the BBWAA ballot, which was distributed in December, were Yankees center fielder Bernie Williams, Braves catcher Javy Lopez and Angels outfielder Tim Salmon.

Other major hopefuls on this year's ballot were pitcher Jack Morris and first baseman Jeff Bagwell, the latter of whom played his entire career for the Houston Astros.

Morris, who won the World Series with Detroit, Minnesota and Toronto and had 254 victories during his 18-year big league career, was a long shot. He needed to pick up 21.5 percent to make it this year. This was his 13th of a possible 15 years on the BBWAA ballot and his hopes are fading, considering the star-studded ballots that eligible BBWAA voters will confront in the next four years.

BBWAA members with at least 10 consecutive years of covering Major League Baseball can place as many as 10 names on their ballots.

In 2013 alone, a controversial ballot will include, for the first time, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa, Craig Biggio and Curt Schilling, along with other notable returnees such as Rafael Palmeiro and Mark McGwire.

Bonds, the all-time leader with 762 home runs, and Clemens, a 354-game winner, are in the midst of court cases, charged with lying in legal testimony about the use of performance-enhancing drugs. Bonds was found guilty on one count of obstruction of justice and has appealed his sentence. The Clemens trial is set to begin anew this spring. Palmeiro was suspended in 2005 for testing positive for a banned substance, and McGwire admitted in 2010 that he used steroids during his playing career.

The rules are simple: Five years after retirement, a player can remain on the BBWAA ballot for 15 years provided that he receives at least five percent of the vote each year.

Bagwell, his career cut short because of a shoulder injury, hit 449 home runs and hit .297 in 15 seasons. Though he also played under the shadow of steroid use in baseball, there has been no evidence that he ever used the drugs and he has denied doing so. Bagwell was NL Rookie of the Year in 1991 and Most Valuable Player in 1994. He received 41 percent of the vote in 2011.

In December, the Golden Era Committee of 16 members considered 10 candidates, including eight players, who participated in the Major Leagues from 1947-72. Needing 12 votes to be elected, Santo -- who died on Dec. 3, 2010, from complications of diabetes and cancer -- received 15 of 16 votes.

Santo will be represented at the induction ceremony by his wife, Vicki, who will give the acceptance speech. Santo will be the fourth member of the Cubs team of the 1960s and '70s to enter the Hall, joining shortstop Ernie Banks, outfielder Billy Williams and pitcher Ferguson Jenkins.

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