Cincinnati Reds legend Joey Votto says goodbye to baseball

Legendary former Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto felt he still had something left in the tank.

Despite battling injuries in 2022 and 2023, Votto was not ready to hang up the cleats heading into this past winter's free agency. In October, he told "The Dan Patrick Show" that he wanted to play at least one more year. Although a reunion with the Reds was not going to happen , Votto persisted, eventually signing a minor league deal with the Blue Jays as he tried to keep his MLB career going.

He started his time with the Blue Jays with a bang, belting a home run on the first pitch he saw in spring training. The good times did not last long, as Votto stepped on a bat in the dugout, injuring his ankle and ending his spring training just as it was heating up.

While Votto tried getting back on the diamond, his minor league rehab continued to stall due to injuries to the ankle and lower back. Instead of choosing to fight a prolonged losing battle, Votto realized what his body had been telling him — it was time to call it a career.

A second-round pick by the Reds in the 2002 MLB Draft, Votto made his major league debut as a September call-up in 2007. He was named the Reds starting first baseman in 2008, a position he held for the next 16 years when healthy. Votto was a six-time All-Star and the 2010 NL MVP. He operated as a dangerous run producer with an impressive eye at the plate, posting a .294/.409/.511 batting line in his 8,756 career plate appearances while hitting 356 homers and 459 doubles. Votto was also the active walks leader in baseball when he retired, with his 1,365 free passes ranking 34th all time.

Votto's story may not be over, though. He may soon find himself in Cooperstown, with Bradford Doolittle of ESPN calling Votto the future of the Hall of Fame . And he will almost certainly be immortalized in Cincinnati as one of the greatest players in franchise history — his 64.5 bWAR is fourth amongst Reds players. Even the greats cannot defeat Father Time, though. Votto's time has come to step away from the game.