One of baseball’s brightest personalities is hanging up the spikes. Former first baseman Joey Votto has announced his retirement from baseball. Yesterday, the 2010 N.L. MVP posted a video to Instagram, making his retirement official.
Votto, now 40, spent his entire 17-year career donning a Cincinnati Reds uniform. Votto was born in Toronto, Ontario, where he played baseball, basketball, and hockey. Votto had plans to attend Coastal Carolina University for college baseball, but the Cincinnati Reds called his name in the second round of the 2002 MLB Draft.
After spending six seasons in the Reds minor league organizations, Votto made his MLB debut in September 2007. He represented the Reds and Canada in the 2007 MLB Futures Game. After the 2007 season, the Reds named Votto their starting first baseman for the 2008 season.
Still eligible for rookie status in 2008, Votto played in 151 games in his first full professional season, slugging 24 home runs and 84 RBIs while hitting .297. Votto would end up finishing as the runner-up for the N.L. Rookie of the Year Award, as Cubs catcher Geovany Soto took home the honors.
His first All-Star season would come in 2010, where Votto would hit .324, crushing 37 homers and a career-best 113 RBIs while leading all of baseball with an on-base percentage of .424. After posting these numbers, Votto was awarded the National League MVP, beating Albert Pujols.
In his Reds career, Votto was a six-time All-Star, and he also took home a Gold Glove Award in 2011. Playing in 2,056 games, all in a Reds uniform, Votto hit for a career .294 average, 356 home runs, and 1144 RBIs while collecting 2,135 hits. He also played with Team Canada in the World Baseball Classic in 2009 and 2013.
He would go unsigned during the 2023-2024 offseason, but his hometown, Toronto Blue Jays, would sign him to a minor league contract for the season. Missing some time due to an injury, Votto played in three levels in the Blue Jays minor league organizations, totaling 31 games played. Votto could only hit .165 in those games, blasting two home runs and driving in 12 RBIs.
In Reds franchise history, he is the sole leader in walks with 1,365, while he is second in total bases behind Pete Rose and second in home runs behind Johnny Bench. We will now have to wait and see five years from now if Joey Votto will be picking up a phone call for his entrance into Cooperstown.
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WBN MLB: https://worldbaseball.com/league/mlb/
Photo Credit: Joey Votto #19 of the Cincinnati Reds acknowledges the crowd after the 4-2 win against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Great American Ball Park on September 24, 2023 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
