Legendary former Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto felt he nonetheless had one thing left within the tank.
Regardless of battling accidents in 2022 and 2023, Votto was not prepared to hold up the cleats heading into this previous winter’s free company. In October, he instructed “The Dan Patrick Present” that he wanted to play a minimum of another yr. Though a reunion with the Reds was not going to happen, Votto continued, finally signing a minor league deal with the Blue Jays as he tried to maintain his MLB profession going.
He began his time with the Blue Jays with a bang, belting a house run on the primary pitch he noticed in spring coaching. The nice occasions didn’t final lengthy, as Votto stepped on a bat within the dugout, injuring his ankle and ending his spring coaching simply because it was heating up.
Whereas Votto tried getting again on the diamond, his minor league rehab continued to stall resulting from accidents to the ankle and decrease again. As a substitute of selecting to combat a protracted shedding battle, Votto realized what his physique had been telling him — it was time to name it a profession.
