How Spectacular Was Joey Votto’s Profession?

Whereas attempting to think about a subject for this text, one of many best gamers of my technology retired. As I grew up a diehard Cardinals fan, I used to be raised to hate the Reds. These early 2010s Reds groups are full of a few of my least favourite baseball gamers. From Brandon Phillips and Todd Fraizer to Mat Latos and Homer Bailey, that entire staff was full of men I couldn’t stand. Nonetheless the very best participant on this staff and just lately retired future HOF Joey Votto was the one one I preferred and rooted for. Then, as I grew up, I started to be taught the analytical facet of the sport and discovered shortly how spectacular the profession of Joey Votto was and have become much more of a fan. With Voto’s latest announcement of retirement, it grew to become clear to me that there was no different strategy to go along with this text however a bit on Votto’s profession, how dominant it was, and why he IS a future HOF. 

Votto was drafted by the Reds as an 18-year-old out of Canada within the 2nd spherical of the 2002 draft. He began his professional profession straight away in rookie ball as he posted a .873 OPS with 9 HRs and a ten% BB throughout 202 PAs after being drafted. From 2003 to 2005 Votto labored his approach by means of the decrease ranks of the Reds system as he was placing in his time earlier than he acquired his likelihood. Throughout this stretch, he continued to do the one factor he could be identified for: hit. He hit 43 HRs with a 14% BB% and constantly posted a BA over .270 and an OPS over .900 throughout the 1670 PAs on this stretch. 

In 2006 he acquired his first likelihood in AA and didn’t disappoint. The now 22-year-old hit .319 with 22 HRs, a .956 OPS and a 13% BB%. In 2007 he acquired his first shot in AAA and guess what he did? He hit! He posted a .859 OPS with 22 HRs throughout 580 PAs in AAA which led to Votto getting his first call-up with the Reds on the finish of the 2007 season. The 2007 Reds have been a foul staff successful simply 72 video games however a 23-year-old Votto gave followers hope for the final month of the season. Votto hit .321 with 4 HRs and 127 OPS+ all whereas solely putting out simply 17% of the time. These spectacular numbers marked what was the start of a HOF profession.

After his fast debut in 2007, Votto grew to become a mainstay at first base for the Reds for years to come back. He shortly established himself as the most effective gamers in baseball. In his first two full seasons (2008-2009) Votto performed in 282 video games and hit .309 with a 139 wRC+ and 49 HRs and 70 2Bs. This wRC+ ranked 14th in baseball over this stretch in addition to twelfth in wOBA. Votto positioned 2nd in ROY voting in 2008 and twenty second in MVP voting in 2009. Regardless of being one of many higher gamers in baseball by means of his first two years he was nonetheless ready for his first all-star and to have a real breakout.

 In 2010 he had that breakout season as he hit an absurd .324 with 37 HRs and a 1.024 OPS successful the MVP award. This season marked the primary of a 4-year stretch of pure dominance. From 2010 to 2013 Votto made 4 all-star appearances, received the 2010 MVP award, positioned high 14 in MVP voting yearly, and received a GG in 2011. He hit 104 HRs with a .317 BA, .978 OPS, 18.5% Okay%, 16.7% BB%, 164 wRC+, and 24.3 fWAR. This ranked him tied for 2nd in wRC+, fifteenth in BB/Okay, twenty first in HRs, 4th in fWAR, and 1st in OBP. Votto was off to one of many hottest begins in his profession as by means of his age 29 season (2013) he had 159 HRs, .961 OPS, and 34.2 bWAR. This put him on a HOF trajectory however he was not executed but as Votto nonetheless had extra within the tank after his thirtieth birthday. 

Following Votto’s 4 12 months stretch of dominance, he had an injury-riddled 2014 season the place he performed in 62 video games and had a .799 OPS which whereas nonetheless nice was the bottom of his profession at that time. Going into 2015 Votto was 31 and coming off an injury-fueled season the place he was beneath his regular degree of dominance when he did play. This led to some questions on if the now-veteran Votto was perhaps slowing down. Nonetheless, Votto shortly put the 2014 season behind him by hitting 29 HRs, posting a 1.000 OPS, and putting third in MVP voting. This 2015 season began one other dominant 4-year stretch from Votto from 2015 to 2018.

From 2015 to 2018 Votto hit .312 with 106 HRs and 129 2Bs to go together with a 493/439 Okay/BB, 157 wRC+, and 21.5 fWAR. Votto additionally racked up 2 extra all-star nods and positioned high 10 in MVP voting 3 instances. Throughout this stretch Votto ranked tenth in video games performed, twenty third in HRs, 1st in BB%, 1st in BB/Okay ratio, third in AVG, 1st in OBP, 2nd in wRC+, and eighth in fWAR. This 4-year stretch exemplifies one in every of Votto’s most well-known statistical qualities: his potential to attract walks and keep away from strikeouts. In a time the place gamers have been more and more putting out extra, Votto stored his method by strolling extra then putting out whereas nonetheless hitting 25+ HRs per season. This was the final dominant stretch of Votto’s profession however he nonetheless had some extra high quality baseball to be performed.

The Finish of the Historic Profession:

2019 marked the start of the top for Votto as he put up his first sub-100 wRC+ of his profession and his worst BB/Okay ratio since early in his profession. He was nonetheless a decent huge leaguer racking up 1.4 WAR in 2019, however it was clear the 35-year-old was on the best way out. The COVID-19-shortened 2020 season was a lot of the identical as Votto was nonetheless a decent huge leaguer however the very best was previously. Nonetheless, in 2021, Votto gave us one final season of his true dominance. 2021 Votto was a distinct animal as he adjusted his swing to get extra energy whereas putting out a little bit extra. The now 37-year-old hit 36 HRs which was simply his third 35+ homer season of his profession and had a .938 OPS whereas putting sixteenth in MVP voting. This was sadly the final nice season we noticed from Votto.

Within the final two seasons of his profession (2022-2023) Votto struggled to be a median huge league hitter and keep on the sphere. He performed simply 156 video games over these two years with 25 HRs and a .712 OPS. Nonetheless, Votto continued to be a mentor for a younger and coming-up Reds staff as he helped lead the transition from the previous age to the brand new age. The 40-year-old parted methods with the Reds after the 2023 season and he signed a minor league cope with his hometown Blue Jays however by no means made again as much as the bigs with them earlier than formally asserting his retirement earlier this month. This simply leaves us with time to mirror on Votto.

That is the place it ends for Votto and the dialog that must be had. His legacy will all the time be remembered by the Reds as his quantity 19 jersey will virtually positively be retired. Nonetheless, whereas some assume his HOF case shouldn’t be as open and closed as his Reds legacy, it must be. Votto retired as a 6-time all-star, one-time GG winner, and one-time MVP winner. He rocked a profession slash line of .294/.409/.511 with a .920 OPS, 144 OPS+, and 64.5 bWAR. He additionally racked up 356 HRs, 429 2Bs, and 2135 hits. 

When in comparison with different 1B within the HOF Votto grades out pretty stable. His WAR ranks 14th all-time amongst 1B with the common of all HOF 1B being 64.8 and his being 64.4. His WAR7 ranks ninth all-time amongst 1B at 46.9 whereas the HOF common for 1B is 42.0 (WAR7 takes the very best 7 seasons, by way of bWAR, for a given participant). Then subsequent is to dive into the well-known JAWS metric which is without doubt one of the most well-known for judging HOF candices. JAWS is calculated by averaging a participant’s profession WAR with the entire WAR from his seven-year peak. Votto ranks twelfth all-time amongst 1B in JAWS with 55.7 and the common on the place is 53.4. Whereas not a transparent high 5 participant at his place ever, it’s clear that Votto meets most statistical standards it takes to be a HOF 1B. This goes together with Votto additionally being one of the crucial beloved gamers in baseball amongst followers, media, and different gamers. All of this collectively makes it appear to be for my part that Votto is a slam dunk HOF.

As Joey Votto’s profession involves a detailed, his influence on the sport of baseball is unmistakable. Regardless of my Cardinal fandom, Votto’s plain expertise and consistency have made him a participant price admiring, even from a rival’s perspective. His profession, highlighted by an MVP award, a number of All-Star choices, and a uncommon potential to mix energy with plate self-discipline, solidifies his place within the Baseball Corridor of Fame. Votto’s contributions prolong past his spectacular statistics; his function as a mentor and chief exemplifies his dedication to the sport. His induction into the Corridor of Fame appears not simply inevitable however deserved.