First Baseman, Cincinnati
Reds
Age: 27 (Sept. 10)
3rd season
with Reds
Bats – Left,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’2” Weight: 220
Prior to 2010:
A native of
Canada from Toronto, Votto was a fine all-around athlete in high school. Initially
a catcher, he was chosen by the Reds directly out of high school in the second
round of the 2002 amateur draft and received a $600,000 bonus to sign.
Initially assigned to the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League, the 18-year-old Votto
batted .269 with 9 home runs and 33 RBIs in 50 games while primarily being used
as a Designated Hitter and third baseman along with seven appearances behind
the plate and six in the outfield. He started out in 2003 with Dayton of the
Class A Midwest League but was sent down to Billings of the Pioneer League
after hitting only .231 in 60 games. At Billings his production improved to
.317 with a .452 on-base percentage thanks to drawing 56 walks in addition to
his improved batting. Now set as a first baseman, he topped the Pioneer League
first sackers with a .979 fielding percentage. With teams at the A and advanced
A levels in 2004, Votto hit a combined .301 with 33 doubles, 19 home runs, 92
RBIs, and a .413 OBP, although he also struck out 131 times. He had a lesser
season in 2005 with Sarasota of the advanced Class A Florida State League where
he batted .257 with 17 home runs, 83 RBIs, and a .330 OBP. Votto hit well for
Team Canada in the 2005 Baseball World Cup which was followed by a strong 2006
performance with the Chattanooga Lookouts of the Class AA Southern League where
he hit .319 with 46 doubles, 22 home runs, 77 RBIs, a .409 OBP, and a .547
slugging percentage. He received Southern League MVP recognition and advanced
to Louisville of the Class AAA International League in 2007. Votto batted .294
with 22 home runs, 92 RBIs, and a .381 OBP to earn a September call-up to the
Reds where he hit .321 in 24 games and slugged his first four major league home
runs. As Cincinnati’s starting first baseman in 2008, Votto batted .297 with 32
doubles, 24 home runs, 84 RBIs, and a .368 OBP. Along the way he hit three home
runs in a game against the Cubs. He placed second in NL Rookie of the Year
voting. Votto performed well again in 2009 despite spending time on the DL, hitting
.322 with 25 home runs, 84 RBIs, a .414 OBP, and a .567 slugging percentage.
2010 Season Summary
Appeared in 150
games
1B – 148, PH –
3
[Bracketed
numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 648
At Bats – 547
Runs – 106 [4,
tied with Jayson Werth]
Hits – 177 [6]
Doubles – 36 [14,
tied with Kelly Johnson, David Wright & Adam Dunn]
Triples – 2
Home Runs – 37 [3]
RBI – 113 [3]
Bases on Balls
– 91 [4, tied with Jason Heyward]
Int. BB – 8
[20, tied with five others]
Strikeouts – 125
Stolen Bases – 16
Caught Stealing
– 5
Average - .324
[2]
OBP - .424 [1]
Slugging Pct. -
.600 [1]
Total Bases – 328
[3]
GDP – 11
Hit by Pitches
– 7
Sac Hits – 0
Sac Flies – 3
League-leading OBP
was +.010 ahead of runner-up Albert Pujols
League-leading slugging
percentage was +.002 ahead of runner-up Carlos Gonzalez
Midseason
snapshot: 2B – 15, HR - 22, RBI - 60, AVG - .314, SLG – .589, OBP - .422
---
Most hits, game
– 4 (in 5 AB) at St. Louis 6/1, (in 6 AB) at Milwaukee 7/27, (in 7 AB) at San
Francisco 8/25 – 12 innings
Longest hitting
streak – 10 games
HR at home – 18
HR on road – 19
Most home runs,
game – 2 (in 4 AB) vs. KC Royals 6/13, (in 4 AB) at NY Mets 7/5, (in 7 AB) at
San Francisco 8/25 – 12 innings
Multi-HR games
– 3
Most RBIs, game
– 4 at Atlanta 5/20, at San Francisco 8/25 – 12 innings
Pinch-hitting – 0 for 1 (.000) with 2 BB
Fielding
Chances – 1265
Put Outs – 1132
Assists – 128
Errors – 5
DP – 101
Pct. - .996
Postseason: 3 G
(NLDS vs. Philadelphia)
PA – 11, AB – 10,
R – 0, H – 1, 2B – 0,3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 1, BB – 0, IBB – 0, SO – 2, SB – 0, CS
– 0, AVG - .100, OBP - .091, SLG - .100, TB – 1, GDP – 1, HBP – 0, SH – 0, SF –
1
Awards & Honors:
NL MVP: BBWAA
NL Hank Aaron
Award: MLB
All-Star
Top 5 in NL MVP
Voting:
Joey Votto,
Cin.: 443 points - 31 of 32 first place votes, 99% share
Albert Pujols,
StL: 279 points – 1 first place vote, 62% share
Carlos
Gonzalez, Col.: 240 points – 54% share
Adrian
Gonzalez, SD: 197 points – 44% share
Troy
Tulowitzki, Col.: 132 points – 29% share
---
Reds went 91-71
to finish first in the NL Central Division by 5 games over the St. Louis
Cardinals while leading the league in runs scored (790), hits (1515), home runs
(188), RBIs (761), batting (.272), slugging (.436) and total bases (2432). With
solid hitting and a deep pitching staff, the Reds led the NL Central for 115
days and opened up an 8-game September lead before slumping briefly, but still easily winning the division. Lost NLDS to
the Philadelphia Phillies, 3 games to 0 as Phillies ace Roy Halladay no-hit the
Reds in Game 1.
Aftermath of 2010:
The Reds posted a losing record in 2011, but Votto batted .309 and led the NL in doubles (40), walks drawn (110), and OBP (.416), while also hitting 29 home runs with 103 RBIs and a .531 slugging percentage. He also received a Gold Glove for his defensive performance at first base. The club rewarded him with a 12-year contract extension worth $251.5 million. Votto had an outstanding first half in 2012 but in mid-July underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee which sidelined him until September. Limited to 111 games, he batted .337 with 44 doubles, 14 home runs, 56 RBIs, and a .567 slugging percentage while again leading the league in walks drawn (94) and on-base percentage (.474). Cincinnati returned to the top of the division but lost to the San Francisco Giants in the NLDS despite Votto’s seven-hit, .389 production. In 2013 he led the NL in walks drawn (135) and OBP (.435) once more while hitting .305 with 30 doubles, 24 home runs, and 73 RBIs, finishing sixth in league MVP balloting. Hindered by a knee injury in 2014, Votto was limited to 62 games and a .255 average with only 6 home runs, drawing criticism for his unwillingness to discuss his injury with the media and his sagging power production. He returned in fine form in 2015, appearing in 158 games and batting .314 with 29 home runs, 80 RBIs, a .459 OBP, and drawing a league-high 143 walks. Votto had another solid season in 2016, although Cincinnati finished in last place. He hit .326 with 29 home runs and 97 RBIs while leading the NL with a .434 OBP and came in seventh in NL MVP voting. It was more of the same in 2017, performing well with a mediocre club, and he totaled .320 with 36 home runs and 100 RBIs while topping the circuit in walks drawn (134) and OBP (.454). He finished a close second in a tight league MVP vote to Miami’s Giancarlo Stanton. Votto got off to a slow start in 2018 and got caught up in controversy with remarks he made to reporters. Later he went on the disabled list after being hit in the knee by a pitch. His power production dropped to 12 home runs and 67 RBIs while he hit .284 and once again led the NL in OBP (.417) thanks to drawing 108 walks. Votto’s performance dropped off further in 2019 to .261 with 32 doubles, 15 home runs, and 47 RBIs. His OBP of .357 was respectable but low by his previous standards. In the pandemic-shortened 2020 season he batted .226 in 54 games with 11 home runs and 22 RBIs as the Reds qualified for the postseason. In the two-game Wild Card Series loss to Atlanta he managed only two hits. Despite missing 33 games due to a broken thumb in 2021, Votto hit 36 home runs with 99 RBIs while batting .266 with a .375 OBP. For his career through his first 42 games in 2022, all spent with the Reds, Votto has batted .300 with 2057 hits that include 445 doubles, 22 triples, and 336 home runs. He has scored 1130 runs and compiled 1087 RBIs, 1319 walks drawn, a .415 OBP, and a .518 slugging percentage. He has led the NL in OBP seven times, and in walks drawn five times. Appearing in 11 postseason games, he has hit .244 with one RBI. A six-time All-Star, he has placed in the top 10 in league MVP voting six times as well. Votto has also received the Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada’s top athlete twice and the Tip O’Neill Award as the best Canadian baseball player seven times.
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MVP Profiles feature players in the National or
American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award
(1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present)
as Most Valuable Player.
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