Joey Votto appeared on the Jim Day podcast earlier this week and told a fascinating story about the exact moment he knew his career as a baseball player was over.
Day and Votto were talking about the ABS system and Day mentioned to Votto how good he would have been at challenging calls if he had that system in the prime of his career.
“So I woke up in Buffalo, New York, threw on my gear and drove to the ballpark, Votto said. “I got loose. I was the first one there, ran my sprints. Nobody was at the ballpark. Then I did all of my pregame stuff, got my uniform on, 40 or 41 year old, whatever I was at the time. Got out on the line early before the same, signed autographs, got ready mentally and physcially before the game.”
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“Then, in my second at-bat, maybe even my third at-bat, I swung through a middle heater and then on the second pitch, the pitcher threw a fastball away, straight as an arrow, and I thought that ball was off the plate. And I challenged it. Strike. Next pitch, fastball right now the middle, swing through. And I thought you career is done. You’re getting the balls and strikes wrong. You can’t hit a fastball. Most importantly, the thing i prided myself on, I got wrong.”
This happened when Votto signed with the Toronto Blue Jays and he was rehabbing in the minor leagues. Votto later told Day that was the last game he played.
In his prime, Votto knew the strike zone better than anyone. He never played a full season where his walk percentage was under 10. He also led the league in walks in five different seasons.
Reds fans used to say, “if Votto didn’t swing, it wasn’t a strike.”
Votto had a fantastic career with the Reds and is set to work with NBC Sports this season on their baseball coverage.
You can listen to the full episode with Votto here.
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