30 Lesser Known Facts You Probably Didn't Know About Joey Votto

18 June 2019, 4:37 pm EDT By Ruby Karnick

Joey Votto, currently the first baseman for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB), is a six-time MLB All-Star, a seven-time Tip O'Neill Award winner, and two-time Lou Marsh Trophy winner as Canada's athlete of the year. Here are some facts about the Canadian professional baseball player:

He was born Joseph Daniel Votto on September 10, 1983, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to Wendy and Joseph Votto. He has three brothers, Tyler, and twins Ryan and Paul.
His family is of Italian descent and grew up in western Ontario district of Etobicoke section of the city. His mother was a sommelier and restaurant manager. His father was chef.
Votto and his father a huge fan of Blue Jays,played catch almost every day while growing up. Votto who batted left handed was quick and had a strong throwing arm.
He attended Richview Collegiate Institute known for its great sports team. He worked tirelessly in baseball field also played hockey and basketball in which as a point guard he once scored 37 points in a game.
Apart from spending two hours every day at RCIs indoor batting cage, he was also playing for a top amateur team called ‘Thunderbirds,’ coached by Mel Oswald. Later he switched allegiance to the Etobicoke Rangers, under Coach Smyth.
Votto was selected as 44th overall pick in the second round of 2002 MLB Draft, by Cincinnati Reds, right out of high school. He was signed up for $600,000 and joined the organization’s Gulf Coast League club in Sarasota.
Playing in the league he batted .269 with nine home runs and 33 RBIs in 50 games and was tied for the leagues lead with 25 extra-base hits. He was used in different positions as catcher, third base and the outfield.
While playing for Dayton Dragons of the Class-A Midwest League, he hit 26 doubles and 14 home runs with a batting average of .302. Later he was promoted to the Potomac Cannons of the Class A-Advanced Carolina League and hit five more home runs in 20 games.
After experiencing lackluster season with Sarasota Reds in 2005, he rebounded in 2006 with the best season of his minor league career. Playing for the Chattanooga Lookouts of the Class-AA Southern League, he batted .319, with 46 doubles and 22 home runs.
Votto was selected to play in the 2006 All-Star Futures Games on the World Team, as he led the Southern League in batting averages, in hits, walks, doubles, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and total bases.He was voted the Southern League Most Valuable Player.

He season with Louisville Bats of the Class-AAA International League was short lived, as he was promoted to the Major Leagues on September 1, 2007.
Votto made his major league debut on September 4, against the New York Mets and in his second game at-bat he hit his first career home run. He ended the 2007 season with batting average of .321, with 4 home runs, 7 doubles, and 17 RBIs in 24 games.
Along with Jay Bruce he became the fifth rookie teammates in the divisional-era to hit 20 home runs in the same season in 2008. He finished second in the National League Rookie of the Year voting.
Votto ended the year 2008, averaging .297, with 69 runs in 156 hits and recording 24 home runs, and 84 RBIs in 151 games. He broke the franchise record for most runs batted in by a rookie and led all National League rookies in batting, hits, home runs, and total bases.
After the death of his father, Joseph Vetto Sr., a mentor and friend on August 9, 2008, he went into depression. He sought counseling for anxiety and depression and returned to the team after nearly a month.
Votto rewrote 77 years old record of hitting 10 doubles in a 5-game span between September 21 and 27, 2009. For his feat he was named the National League Player of the Week for that duration.
After overcoming personal problems and missing 31 games in 2009, Votto ended the year among the top 10 National League hitters in batting, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. He averaged .322, with 82 runs for 151 hits apart from 25 home runs and 84 RBIs.
Votto played for Canada at the 2009 and 2013 World Baseball Classic and won the Lou Marsh Award as Canada’s athlete of the year in 2010 and 2017. However in 2016 he declined to suit up for Canada at the World Baseball Classic to concentrate on his training.
He made it into the 2010 All-Star game via online fan voting through the National League’s Final Vote after he failed to make the cut initially. He also made the cover of Sports Illustrated on the August 30, 2010 edition.
On November 22, 2010, Votto was overwhelmingly elected the National League’s Most Valuable Player. He is the first Reds player and the third Canadian to win the MVP award, after Larry Walker and Justin Morneau.

Votto finished in the top three in the 2010 National League in all Triple Crown categories with a .324 average, 37 homers and 113 RBIs. He won the 2010 Hank Aaron Award as one of the top offensive performer.
Apart from winning the, Most Valuable Player in National League in 2010, Votto, a five-time all-star, has finished in the top 10 in M.V.P. voting in each of the last three years as on 2018.
In the beginning of the 2011 season he extended his contract with Reds for three years, worth $38 million and finished the season with a .309 batting average, 29 home runs, and 103 RBIs. He was awarded his first Gold Glove Award in the season.
Votto further consolidated his deal with Reds when he signed a 12 year, $251.5 million contract extension on April 2, 2012, which also includes their earlier commitments. This made him the highest paid athlete in Canada and the deal is the 13th largest in MLB history.
In February 2013, Votto was voted as the ‘Face of the MLB.’ It is a contest in which the ‘face’ of every MLB team is pitted against each other for the fan to cast their vote via Twitter.
On May 6, 2015, Votto was ejected following a strikeout where he threw his helmet down in frustration and exchanged choice words with Gerrit Cole. After getting ejected, Votto appeared to have bumped Chris Conroy, the umpire and received one-game suspension.
Votto had promised to buy teammate Zack Cozart a donkey for making the 2017 All-Star Game. After many interviews and an appearance in a donkey suit on MLB Network’s ‘Intentional Talk.’ Cozart won the fan vote and made the cut.
In April 2018, he was presented with the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame’s ‘Tip O’Neill Award,’ for his individual achievement and team contribution while adhering to baseball’s highest ideals. He has received this award for the seventh time in eight years.
In May 2018, a very emotional Votto apologized to Canadian baseball fans for his comments which came from an ‘absolutely silly, short-sighted, selfish place.’ Earlier on podcast he had said ‘As for as Toronto, and Canadian baseball, and the country of Canada, and James Paxton being Canadian, I don’t care at all, or the Jays or Canada in general may disagree with that, but I really couldn’t give a rat’s ass about that.’
He is better known as a clutch hitter is also recognized for his defensive play as a first baseman. He has a career .312 batting average, 163 home runs, and 542 runs batted in.