Joey Votto retires from baseball

TORONTO — Moments before first pitch between the only team he’s ever known and the team he grew up cheering for, Joey Votto announced he is retiring from baseball.

Votto has spent the past six months trying to make it back to the big leagues one more time with the Blue Jays. He’d signed a Minor League deal in the spring saying he wanted to “try out” for the local club, but an ankle injury cost him half the season.

This week’s series between the Blue Jays and Reds, with whom Votto played 17 incredible seasons, came and went without him getting the call from Triple-A Buffalo.

“That’s it. I’m done. I am officially retired from baseball,” Votto said in an eight-second video, standing in a parking lot outside Buffalo’s Sahlen Field.

Votto, just three weeks shy of his 41st birthday, was one of the best hitters of his generation and a Canadian baseball legend with a fine case for the Baseball Hall of Fame. From 2007-23 with the Reds, Votto hit .294 with 356 home runs and a .920 OPS over 2,056 games, earning six NL All-Star nods to go along with his 2010 NL MVP Award. An on-base machine, Votto led Major League Baseball in walks three times and had nine seasons with an OBP over .400.

Likely to receive Hall of Fame consideration when he first becomes eligible for the ballot in five years, Votto ranks second in Reds franchise history in homers, doubles (459) and OPS, first in walks (1,365), third in runs (1,171), fourth in hits (2,135) and fifth in games played.

The final two seasons of Votto’s time with the Reds were a struggle. Over 2022-23, he batted .204 with a .712 OPS and 25 homers over only 156 games. He had left shoulder surgery in August 2022 to repair a torn rotator cuff and biceps, which kept him out for 10 months.

Votto’s 10-year, $225 million contract extension with Cincinnati in 2012 ended last season. In November, the Reds declined his $20 million club option, making him a free agent for the first time.

Votto had already bid a tearful and heartfelt goodbye from Cincinnati during his final home game on Sept. 24 at Great American Ball Park. On Oct. 1, in what proved to be his final Major League game at St. Louis, Votto was ejected after his first at-bat for arguing balls and strikes with the home plate umpire.

In Votto’s farewell caption on Wednesday, he thanked his parents, Wendy and Joe, along with his brother, Tyler. He also thanked the Etobicoke, Ontario, community, where he grew up and played much of his amateur ball career before being selected by the Reds in the second round of the 2002 MLB Draft. The list stretched on with the many teammates and managers Votto has shared the dugout with over the years, including many of the inside jokes only they’ll understand.

“Toronto + Canada, I wanted to play in front of you. Sigh, I tried with all my heart to play for my people. I’m just not good anymore,” Votto wrote. “Thank you for all the support during my attempt.”

Over 15 games in Triple-A after Votto was finally healthy enough to play this season, he hit .143 with a .489 OPS. Both he and the Blue Jays had envisioned a world in which he joined this club during the season and contributed to a postseason run, but as Toronto fell out of the postseason race and pivoted to a younger roster with an eye on the future, the plan no longer aligned.

“Cincinnati, I’ve only played for you,” Votto’s caption continues. “I love you.

“Finally, to the MLB fans. You energized me with your cheers, I loved the boos, the trash talk, the moments where I broke a road cities moment, or was humbled on stage. I’ll never forget, early in my career, my first time at Wrigley Field and the crowd standing and cheering toward my failure. I remember standing at the plate, smiling and thinking, this is my home. I belong here. I was myself in this sport. I was able to be my best self. I played this sport with every last ounce of my body, heart, and mind. Thank you for everything.”