Joey Votto, the longtime Cincinnati Reds first baseman, retires

Longtime Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto , a six-time All-Star and the 2010 MVP in the National League, has retired.

The 40-year-old made the announcement as part of a social media post Wednesday night.

"I was myself in this sport," he wrote . "I was able to be my best self. I played this sport with every last ounce of my body, heart, and mind. Thank you for everything."

Votto became a free agent last fall after the end of a 12-year, $251.5 million contract with the Reds, who selected him in the second round of the 2002 amateur draft out of Richview Collegiate Institute in Toronto.

Across his 17 big league seasons in Cincinnati, Votto had a .294 batting average with 356 homers, 1,144 RBIs and a .409 on-base percentage in 2,056 games. He led the NL in on-base percentage seven times and was a Gold Glove winner in 2011.

"Cincinnati, I've only played for you. I love you," he wrote as part of the post.

The Reds later responded on social media : "We love you too, Joey."

Votto signed a minor league deal with his hometown team, the Toronto Blue Jays , on March 9. He homered off Philadelphia's Zack Wheeler in his only spring training at-bat for Toronto on March 17. He stepped on a bat in the dugout later in that game and was sidelined for the next three months.

He had been playing at Triple-A Buffalo and went 6-for-42 with one homer and four RBIs in 15 games, striking out 22 times.

The Blue Jays were hosting the Reds on Wednesday in the finale of a three-game series in Toronto.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.