The 1,009 runs and 404 doubles aren't likely to look eye-popping to the crowd that considers the counting stats dear, either.Before 2019, Votto never had an OPS+ below 125. In August 2008, Joseph Votto Sr. died suddenly at age 52. “If you told him to work on something, he’d go and do it,” Smyth, now a part-time MLB scout, told Maclean’s.
Look at his trends the last three years in AVG/OBP/SLG/OPS+.You want black ink? He still logs countless hours in the batting cage, on the field and in the community. Votto is 14th among first baseman in JAWS, slightly below the average Hall of Fame first baseman. He won the 2010 MVP, finished second once, third once and sixth twice. Not the Reds Hall of Fame. Votto led the league in doubles once, walks five times, on-base percentage seven times, slugging once, OPS twice, OPS+ once and WAR once. While announcing Votto’s unprecedented fourth straight Tip O’Neil Award as Canada’s best baseball player in 2013, Scott Crawford of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame paid tribute to the pride of Etobicoke: “Joey Votto is not only a superstar on the field, but he’s also an inspiration and a difference-maker away from the ballpark.” Among post-integration Hall of Fame first basemen, the lowest home run total is 379 (Orlando Cepeda).The longer we go without baseball, the less likely it is Votto can add enough homers or RBI to satisfy swaths of old-school Hall of Fame hard-liners. I bet I can merge these two together and predict whether Joey Votto has a shot at the Hall of Fame based on comparing his career statistics with other HOFers. Smyth’s mentor, Nick Rico—an Etobicoke resident who played minor-league ball in the late 1940s and early 50s—also had a hand in refining Votto’s MVP-calibre swing. “We’re trying to do our best to provide genuine help,” Votto said at the time. He responded by batting .556, ensuring a second invite in 2013. “My teammates were always a challenge to me because I was never the best player,” he told the Humber Etcetera. But what seems effortless today is the result of thousands of hours of hard work.Major league scouts were slower to catch on, as the promising catcher from Etobicoke was passed over on draft day during his Grade 12 season. But it wasn’t just his talent that got him noticed—at every level, no one worked harder than Joey Votto. Votto has hit 35+ homers twice and 25+ homers three more times. Analysts rave about Votto’s quick, powerful swing, and opponents marvel at his command of the strike zone and ability to change strategy during an at-bat. Whether it’s sending thank-you cards to team staff or spending time with the current crop of Etobicoke Rangers, Votto’s reputation as unfailingly polite, forthright and thoughtful is well earned, as is his penchant for quiet generosity. But his road to the big leagues began when his parents, Joseph and Wendy, first gave their eight-year-old son a bat. That means he's likely to be more in a table-setting capacity in the batting order than the three- or four-hole, where he'd have more RBI chances.That's where the 2020 shutdown factors in a big way.My hunch is Votto ends up in the Hall of Fame as the voting body continues to adapt a new school approach. Note the slugging percentage.
A lot of people take pride in doing things privately.”Driven by the same determination and intensity he displayed at Connorvale, the hardest-working man in baseball will no doubt achieve his patented brand of understated excellence—on the field and off—for many seasons to come.Votto is the most famous product of the Etobicoke Rangers led by Bob Smyth, who also coached him at Richview.