Joey Votto: Cincinnati Reds’ pride
The Cincinnati Reds All-Star first baseman Joey Votto never ceases to amaze his rival teams, and brings joy to his own club, when he is on the field. The winner of National League MVP Award, the Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada’s athlete of the year and the National
League Hank Aaron Award, Votto has gleaned a lot of glory in a short period of time.
He began his Major League Baseball career in 2007 after remaining an impressive slugger with the Class A Dayton Dragons, and Class AA Chattanooga. He was subsequently voted a minor league all-star by Baseball America. It was his consistency that earned him
a place in the Major League.
Once he was promoted there – playing the first game on September 1, 2007, Votto never looked back, ascending new heights. The team might not have performed well as a whole in 2007, but this young player remained impressive with the consistency that he exhibited
as he ended the season .321 with four home runs to his credit.
The journey into success continues for the player since then. That which remains as the most distinguishable trait of this slugger is his consistency. He has remained a prolific hitter throughout his career.
That is what never goes unnoticed and unrewarded. For example, it was only in 2011 that the team announced that they had signed a three-year, $38 million deal with Votto. The same year he was voted to 2011 All-Star Game as a reserve. All the same, he was
then a winner of Gold Glove Award for the first time in his career.
As the 2012 season began, there was a big news awaiting the accomplished slugger. The Reds signed a 10-year, $225 million contract extension with Votto. Considering the previous contract that was part of the deal, it became one of the longest active deal
in the history of baseball, and deservingly so.
Not only that, after Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees, Albert Pujols of the Texas Rangers, this was one of the largest deals to be ever signed in the history of the game.
While Votto has held an impressive .316 career average in his 703 games, this season he has had .342 average in 86 appearances. He is lately struggling with an injury that has consigned him to the disabled list after he tore his medial meniscus in his left
knee on June 2009.
That required a surgery which was carried out on July 17. Since then Votto has been recovering and waiting to be made the part of the team. No wonder that the team manager wants him back in the lineup sooner.
"We'd like to get him back here [pretty soon]," Baker said. "You can go without your star for a while, just like L.A. did with [Matt Kemp], but once you start facing tough pitching and you're facing a tough pitcher, he's your equalizer against the toughest
pitchers around ... and we're about to face some tough pitching here pretty soon, so hopefully he'll be back right on time. Not that he's the savior, but I mean this guy ... he's your MVP and one of the best players in the game."
A player of his calibre, it goes without saying, deserves to illuminate the Reds’ lineup with his early return, and quality play.
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