Joey Votto:

On September 10th, 1983, Joseph Daniel Votto was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada to his parents Wendy and Joseph Votto. Votto grew up in the city of Etobicoke. Joey was introduced to the game of baseball by his father as a child. Joey, even at a young age, would become somewhat of a baseball historian, he idolized Ted Williams. Joey would say this about his father in an article published by ESPN

“He was the first one to teach me how to play baseball,” Joey Votto said. “I played catch with him on a daily basis when I was real young. He was a big fan, he was just in love with what I did and me. He was a great father to me.”

School

Joey was a multi sport athlete. He would play baseball, basketball, football and hockey at Richview Collegiate Institute. Joey was a point guard in basketball, quarterback, and played multiple positions in baseball but mostly catcher. Joey would participate in the Perfect Game baseball showcase in July of 2001. Scouts loved what they saw from the young Canadian. He profiled more as a 3rd baseman or 1st baseman rather than a catcher. Scouts raved about Votto’s smooth left handed swing that showed potential for plus power. “The ball jumps off his bat and sounds a bit different than other wood bats” – PerfectGame.org. Joey would commit to Costal Carolina Univeristy to play college baseball.

Draft

The 2002 MLB Draft was loaded with future All-Stars and Hall of Famers. Some notables were BJ Upton, Zach Greinke, Prince Fielder, Cole Hammels, Matt Cain, John Lester and then Joey Votto. The Cincinnati Reds selected the 18 year old Canadian backstop with the 44th overall pick in the 2nd round of the 2002 MLB Draft. Joey would sign with the Reds and begin his professional career in the Gulf Coast League.

Minor League Career

Joey would begin his professional baseball career in the summer of 2002. He would play 50 games at catcher, 3rd base and left field. He would slash .269/.342/.531 while hitting 9 home runs, 13 doubles 33 RBI’s. Joey showed good discipline, drawing 21 walks. Joey would split time in the rookie league and Dayton in 2003. After tearing up the rookie league, Joey would take a little time to adjust to the higher level at Dayton. He would finish 2003 with a .231 average, only slugging .287 and only hitting 1 home run in 60 games. Joey would play in Dayton again in 2004 and this time he would take a big leap in his development. Votto would slash .302/.419/.486 with 14 home runs, 26 doubles and 72 RBI’s. He would be promoted to high A ball advanced where he would remain consistent, slashing .298/.385/.560 in 24 games. He would hit 5 home runs and 7 doubles in those games. Votto would remain consistent in the minor leagues, each promotion would see an adjustment period, and then he would play at high levels. In 2007, Votto was named the Reds number 3 prospect behind Homer Bailey and Jay Bruce. On September 4th, just 6 days before his 24th birthday, Joey Votto would make his Major League debut for the Cincinnati Reds as a pinch hitter against the New York Mets, striking out.

Early Reds Career

Joey Votto would make his first career start on September 5th, 2007 versus the New York Mets, batting 8th. The Reds were starting to build something special with their young core and upcoming prospects. In his first at bat of the ball game, Joey would take a John Maine offspeed pitch off the batters eye in center field. Not only his first career hit, his first careee homerun. Joey Votto has arrived in Cincinnati.

Votto would finish 2007 playing in 24 games. He would slash .321/.360/.548 with an OPS+ of 127. He would hit 4 home runs and 7 doubles. Votto would become an everyday player in 2008, becoming the Reds everyday 1st baseman. Joey would play in 151 games in 2008. He would hit 24 home runs, 32 doubles, 84 RBI’s, slash .297/.368/.506 and finish 2nd in rookie of the year voting behind Geovany Soto of the Chicago Cubs. 2009 would see even more improvement, slashing .322/.414/.567, an OPS+ of 156, 25 home runs, 84 RBI’s and 38 doubles. Joey also would get some national recognition finishing 22nd in MVP voting. In 2008, Joey would lose his father, it would really affect Joey and he would need to take time away from the game in 2009 to deal with anxiety and depression. Joey has been very outspoken about mental health ever since.

JDV MVP

2010 was a special year for Reds fans. The team had prospects developing in to really good players. Homer Bailey tossed a no hitter, Brandon Phillips solidified himself as the top defensive 2nd baseman and wasn’t too bad as the Reds leadoff man either. Jay Bruce put together his best season in his young career that season. Then, there was Joey Votto. Joey Votto was arguably the best player in baseball in 2010, in my opinion he was. Joey lead the league in on base percentage, slugging, OPS, rOBA and Rbat+. He slashed .324/.424/.600, hit 37 home runs, 113 RBI’s, 36 doubles. He was voted into his first All-Star game but most significantly, winning the 2010 National League MVP award. The Reds would make the postseason for the first time in since 1995, on a division clinching home run off the bat of Jay Bruce. Unfortunately, the Reds would be out matched by the Philadelphia Phillies, being no hit in the first game of the series and getting swept 3-0.

Prime

There were so many great moments in Joey Votto’s career, it would probably take multiple articles talking about them. From 2011-2019, Joey Votto slashed .304/.428/.506 with an OPS+ of 150. On Mothers Day in 2012, Votto would hit 3 home runs in a game, capping it off with a walk off grand slam. Joey would finish 3rd in MVP voting in 2015, 7th in 2016 and 2nd in 2017. 2017 was unbelievable. Joey slashed .320/.454/.578 with a 178 OPS+. He hit 36 home runs, 100 RBI’s, 34 doubles, he walked more than he struck out (134 walks-83K’s). In the first half on 2017, Votto slugged .631 with 26 home runs and 19 doubles. He walked 62 times and only stuck out 42 times. His OPS+ was 180 in the first half. The second half saw a .327/.486/.510 split. His power dropped a bit, hitting 10 home runs in the second half but overall his season should have ended with his second MVP award had the Reds not lost 94 games. Joey finished with an 8.1 WAR, far and away the best in the team and it wasn’t particularly close. Joey Votto was solidifying himself into the Reds history books, a deep and storied Reds history book.

Later Years

2020 was Joey’s age 37, and was the beginning of a decline in production that we weren’t used to seeing. Joey would slash .231/.346/.467 from 2020-2023. He was still an above average hitter, sporting a 113 OPS+ but we weren’t seeing the same player, but that’s to be expected from an aging superstar. 2021 was Votto’s last great season. The team was in contention for a playoff spot but would ultimately fall short. Joey would hit a home run in 7 straight games during the summer of 2021, just missing his 8th straight game by hitting the top of the wall. He would finish 2021 slashing .266/.375/.563, hitting 36 home runs, 99 RBI’s, and an OPS+ of 139, his last season above league average. Joey would be limited with a shoulder injury in 2022. The Reds were selected to play in the Field of Dreams game in 2022 against the Chicago Cubs, the Reds would fall to the Cubs and Votto would go 0-3. Shortly after the game, on August 22, 2022, Joey Votto would undergo surgery for multiple shoulder injuries that would end his season.

The 2023 Reds

Joey Votto would play in spring training in 2023, just 7 months after major shoulder surgery and being 39 years old. He felt he had something to prove, he was in the last guaranteed year of his contract and wanted to play. Unfortunately, there would be setbacks. Joey would need to continue to rehab his shoulder and would not return to the Reds until June. 2023 was a surprise for the Reds. They never really struggled to begin the year, but it felt like something was missing. The Reds called up their young prospect Matt McLain in May and the team started to game some traction. On June 6th, the Reds promoted number 1 prospect Elly De La Cruz and that would spark the Reds on a winning streak, but it still felt like something was missing. On June 19th, 2023, Joey Votto returned to the Reds lineup for the first time since August of 2022. Joey Votto made his season debut. The Rockies catcher Elias Diaz showed a sign of respect, calling for time so Joey could soak in a standing ovation. Then, in the 5th inning with the crowd chanting his name, JOEY! JOEY! JOEY! Magic happened. Joey Votto launched a solo home run halfway up the moondeck. Joey Votto still bangs. In his first game back since his shoulder surgery in 2022, in story book fashion, Joey Votto magic was back in Cincinnati. That wasn’t enough for Joey. After the Rockies came back to tied the game on a bases loaded walk to Mike Moustakas, here comes Joey Votto with the bases loaded. Joey! Joey! Joey! Base hit up the middle in vintage Votto fashion brings home Jonathan India and Elly De La Cruz to give the Reds the lead. The Reds win to extend their winning streak to 9 games. They would ultimately win 12 games in a row in 2023. It was a sight to see, the new look Reds with their aging super star in what would end up being his final season. Unfortunately, injuries would continue to be an issue through out the season, limiting his on field performance and really causing him to go through some really rough stretches, including an 0-21 streak. The Reds would play the Pirates for the final home stand of 2023 and Joey would walk out to his infamous “Paint it Black” by The Rolling Stones. He never said he was done, but you could almost sense it. This would be the final time Joey Votto would step onto the field in Great American Ballpark.

Toronto/Retirement

The Reds would not pick up the final year on Joey Votto’s contract that he signed back in 2012. What would Joey do? He said he wanted to play. Would anyone sign a 40 year old player with his better days in the rear view? The Toronto Blue Jays would sign Votto to a minor league contract, giving Joey the opportunity to finish his career with his hometown team. Joey would never reach the Major League roster. Joey Votto would step on a bat in spring training, injuring his ankle and he would not be able to rehab to get back to Major League Baseball. Joey Votto officially retired from baseball on August 21, 2024.

Post Career/HOF?

As of today, Votto is enjoying retirement. You get the occasional social media post, funny Tik-Tok video but things are rather quiet. Reds President of Baseball Operations Nick Krall said that the door is always open to Joey Votto, whatever he wants to do the door is open. Joey flirted with broadcasting while he was out with his shoulder injury. He was in the booth and was on the call for Spencer Steer’s first career home run. How fitting is it that Spencer Steer’s first hit was a home run? Just like Joey Votto back in 2007.

There’s been a lot of debate on weather Joey Votto is a Hall of Fame player or not. His stats started to decline in his later years. The numbers aren’t typical Hall of Fame numbers. 2135 hits, 356 home runs, .294 batting average. He was a 6 time all-star, Gold Glove winner, and a MVP. Joey was really that first slugger post steroid era. His numbers aren’t going to reflect that of the previous generation. Joey led the league in on base percentage 7 times in his career, lead in walks 5 times. He finished his career with a .409 on base percentage. Batting nearly .300 with a .400 on base percentage is impressive enough, add in his over 350 home runs and I think that’s hall of fame worthy. From 2008 through 2019, Joey Votto was a .306/.422/.516 player with 1839 hits, 397 doubles, and struck out just 121 more times than he walked. There was also a stretch in his career from 2007 up until 2019 where Joey Votto never, I’m serous, never popped up to a first baseman. He popped out in foul territory in Dodger Stadium in 2019. In my opinion, Joey Votto is a Hall of Fame player, whatever year on the ballet he gets in is insignificant to me.

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Photo Credits; Cincinnati Enquirer(2x), Toronto District School Board, Chattlookouts instagram, Reds 𝕏, canadianbaseballnetwork.com,

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