When he hit the end, he issued that apology to Toronto fans, telling them he tried hard to make it back but honesty prevailed and he said, “I just can’t play any more.”
The 41-year-old first baseman knows he does not need to issue any apologies to Cincinnati Reds fans. His career was iconic, the kind for which they erect statues on the perimeter of Great American Ball Park.
He was extremely popular with fans, many who wore shirts with Votto’s name and No. 19 on them long after he was gone. And many clamored for his return, even though he struggled mightily with Toronto’s Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo — 6 for 38 in 14 games (.154) with 20 strikeouts.
There is no apology necessary when his numbers are presented to Hall of Fame voters when he becomes eligible in five years.
He was the National League Most Valuable Player in 2010. He made the All-Star team six times. From 2007 to 2023 he wore the Reds uniform on the field 2,056 times.
He hit .294 with 356 home runs, 2,135 hits, 459 doubles and 1,144 RBI. His batting eye was impeccavble, 20/10. He led MLB in walks three times and earned the respect of umpires who seemed to think, “If Joey Votto doesn’t believe it is a strike then it isn’t a strike.”
Nine times his on-base percentage was over .400.
Those, though, are just numbers, glossy as they are, but just raw numbers.
There was much more to Votto, actually a soft-spoken introvert who often was self-deprecating and self-critical.
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
He was a quiet clubhouse leader and teammates, who called him Joe, gravitated to him for advice and guidance about baseball on the field, how to be a professional baseball player and life in general.
It was not uncommon to see Votto huddled with a young player in the clubhouse, on an airplane between cities and to and from ball parks on the team bus.
On the field, Votto displayed a flair for dramatics, a trait appreciated by his fans.
His first major league hit was a home run in his first game as a starter at first base against the New York Mets on September 5, 2007.
In 2009, Votto’s father died and Votto lapsed into depression and anxiety and missed several games. When he returned on July 2, he went 4 for 6 and lined a walk-off single in the 10th inning for a 3-2 win. Fans gave him a long and loud standing ovation.
On May 13, 2012, Votto launched three home runs and the last was a walk-off grand slam in a 9-6 win over the Washington Nationals. Votto was the first and only player to hit three home runs with the last one a walk-off.
In an astounding three-pitch sequence, Votto hit home runs on the first pitch of at bat three straight times on June 9, 2015, during an 11-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.
In July of 2021, at the age of 37, Votto homered in seven straight games, one shy of tying an MLB record. In the eighth game, against the New York Mets, he drove a double off the top of the right field wall, inches from a home run in eight straight games. That would have tied him with Dale Long (1956) Don Mattingly (1987) and Ken Griffey Jr. (1993).
The dramatics continued in 2023 after he spent nearly a year out of the game due to shoulder surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff. On June 19, his first game back, he homered and hit a two-run go-ahead single in a 5-4 win over Colorado.
Four days later he hit two home runs against the Atlanta Braves, the second one a three-run rip that won the game, 11-10.
How did it all start? Being from a suburb of Toronto, Votto drew scant attention from major league teams.
But just prior to the 2002 MLB draft, Votto played in an amateur event in Jupiter, Fla., and the Reds found a four-leaf clover. Reds scouting director Kasey McKeon, a son to former Reds manager Jack McKeon, had a nephew playing in an early morning game.
Kasey awoke early, grabbed a cup of coffee, and settled into the bleachers to watch his nephews. But there was this kid named Votto playing third base and playing it flawlessly. McKeon was impressed enough to invite him to a workout in Cincinnati.
During that workout, Votto drilled baseballs all over the stadium, including one into the upper deck. Ken Griffey Jr. was watching and Votto said, “Ken was my favorite non-Blue Jays player. I played his video game. Most left-handed hitters attempted to copy his style, his swing.”
Griffey stood behind the cage, watching the hitters, and the always different Votto imitated Griffey’s famous batting stance.
When asked about it later, Votto said, “I have a silly streak in me.” That showed up later when he was with the Reds and did an interview dressed as a Royal Canadian Mountie, dressed up once as Mr. Red, and bought Zack Cozart a donkey for making the All-Star team.
During that hitting demonstration in front of Griffey and about 30 front office types, then general manager Jim Bowden decided this kid was a No. 1 draft pick.
He didn’t do it. The Reds had two No. 1 picks and chose Chris Gruler and Mark Schramek. Who and who? Neither made it to the majors.
The Reds chose Votto in the second round and thus began an incredible journey by a player that reached the same level as some of Cincinnati’s all-time greats.
Once asked about it late in his career, Votto said,”I have nothing but respect for those players. Frank Robinson is one of my favorite players of all time. Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, Barry Larkin — to be in that category is an honor.”
And it was an honor to watch Joey Votto, the quiet, silly, different guy from Canada, perform dynamic deeds in a Reds uniform.
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