Joey Votto never exceeded expectations, but was everything baseball needed

The future of the Cincinnati Reds arrived at PNC Park in Pittsburgh for the 2006 Futures Game, a flame-throwing first-rounder from Texas whose right arm carried so many of the franchise’s hopes and dreams. The kid was only 20 at the time, but he had the looks, the blazing fastball and the guts to hop between the lines of cockiness and confidence.

In the dugout across the way sat a quiet, polite Canadian boy, a first baseman at Double-A Chattanooga.

Homer Bailey was the headliner, already anointed as the next great Cincinnati Red. Joey Votto was the sideshow.

It was on that day that I first introduced myself to him. He was quiet, sparing with his words, and utterly forgettable. He was watching the U.S. team take batting practice from the visitors’ dugout at PNC, where he would play 111 more times that day. It might also be the last time Votto could be described as “utterly forgettable.”

Nearly 20 years later, Votto announced his retirement. He became more than the future of the Cincinnati Reds. He established himself as one of the most memorable and successful players in the history of the storied franchise.

“I’m just not good anymore,” Votto wrote on Instagram on Wednesday, announcing his retirement on his own terms.

Votto shared the news on a significant day. His Cincinnati Reds wrapped up their three-game series in his hometown of Toronto during a week that many fans had circled on their calendars this spring, once he signed a minor-league deal with the Blue Jays.

As a boy in Etobicoke, Ontario, Votto dreamed of donning a Blue Jays uniform. But anyone who expected him to accept that fairytale ending without earning it—to effectively accept charity—had zero sympathy for one of the greatest hitters of his generation.

Votto demanded nothing but excellence of himself, and that was as true now as when he was a 22-year-old kid, a Canadian flag emblazoned across the chest of his black jersey at that Futures Game. It was also true a decade later, during a slow start to his season. He was 32, with a National League Most Valuable Player Award, four top-10 MVP voting finishes, four All-Star appearances and the richest contract in Reds history.

He hit just .229 and maintained that he would rather retire than not play at his level.

“I’d rather retire and leave all the money on the table than play at a bad level,” Votto told me in the clubhouse before a Sunday game at PNC Park. “I’m here to play and be a part of setting a standard. I’ve always prided myself on that. I like to play at a really high level. So far this year, that hasn’t been the case. I’m not going to be a very happy, content person if I don’t perform at the level I expect to.”

Votto added: “I refuse to accept that my prime is over. I refuse to accept that my best days are over.”

Votto wasn’t wrong. He singled and walked that day, slightly increasing his average and on-base percentage. Over the final 133 games of the season, Votto slashed .343/.453/.595 with 27 homers. He would follow that up with perhaps his best year the following season in 2017, when he slashed .320/.454/.578 with 36 homers, just one shy of his career-best set in his 2010 MVP season. More importantly for Votto, he not only played in 162 games that season, but he started 162 games and finished second in the MVP voting, just two votes behind Miami’s Giancarlo Stanton and his 59 homers.

Votto was constantly evolving. As a minor leaguer, he copied Albert Pujols’ batting stance and wore his No. 5 for the Chattanooga Lookouts, lugging around his dog-eared copy of Ted Williams’ “The Science of Hitting.” He was still evolving from his MVP season in 2010, through his mid-30s renaissance, and even into his 36-homer season as a 37-year-old in 2021.

Votto was often a Rorschach test for baseball fans. Old schoolers and announcers focused on what he didn’t do, bemoaning his lack of RBI and his willingness to take a walk on a productive out. The Sabermetrically-oriented crowned him a hero for his lack of RBI and his willingness to take a walk on a productive out.

He proved to be a hitting savant who embodied the embrace of on-base percentage over batting average. Though Votto never won a batting title or a Silver Slugger, he finished as the National League leader in on-base percentage seven out of nine years, from 2010 to 2018. He fell short of that crown when a knee injury devastated his 2014 season and in 2015, when MVP Bryce Harper finished with a .460 on-base percentage to Votto’s .459.

Somewhere along the way, Votto turned his self-reflection to others. He dressed up as a Mountie on the MLB Network and campaigned for teammate Zack Cozart to make the All-Star team. He offered to give Cozart a donkey as a gift if fans voted for the Reds’ shortstop in 2017.

Votto navigated his status with aplomb. Even after teammate Brandon Phillips complained about Votto’s contract, calling his own $72 million deal a “slap in the face,” Votto defended his teammate, calling it a sign of Phillips’ competitiveness.

Although there were times in Cincinnati when Votto’s abilities were questioned, by the end of his tenure he was seen as a veteran and a role model for young players.

After shoulder surgery ended his 2022 season and postponed his 2023 campaign, Votto entered what would be his final year with the Reds in Triple A. There, he took Matt McLain under his wing, defending the young shortstop while all eyes were on Elly De La Cruz, the hottest prospect in baseball. In McLain, Votto saw a player much like himself who was often overlooked for more hyped prospects.

Even as Votto went 3-for-3 and hit his first home run in his first major league start, most Reds fans couldn’t wait to see Jay Bruce, who would be named Baseball America’s Minor League Player of the Year just days later.

Even at that long-ago Futures Game at PNC Park, when Votto came to bat, the announcers mispronounced his name, using a long “o” for the first vowel of his last name. Votto — not Vohto — went on a seven-pitch at-bat, fouling off four two-strike pitches before singled to center. It was the kind of at-bat that would help Votto make a name for himself.

“I was myself in this sport,” Votto wrote in his farewell message. “I was able to be my best self. I played this sport with every last ounce of my body, heart and mind.”

Although Votto could no longer live up to his own expectations, these were the only ones he never exceeded.

(Photo: Harry How/Getty Images)