Former MVP Joey Votto retires after 17-year MLB career

Joey Votto, who excelled in on-base percentage (OBP), announced his retirement from Major League Baseball on Thursday. He shared a video clip saying, “I am done. I am officially retired from baseball.” The former National League (NL) MVP also wrote that he became the best version of himself thanks to baseball, extending his gratitude toward everyone who led him to live his dream of professional baseball.

Making his MLB debut by joining the Cincinnati Reds in 2007, the Toronto-born Votto spent his entire 17-year MLB career with the team as of last year. This franchise star played 2,056 matches over the 17 seasons with an all-time BA of 0.294, 356 home runs, and 1,144 RBIs.

One of his greatest strengths was a good batting eye coupled with quality swings, making it possible for him to bat over 0.400 for as many as nine seasons. His all-time OBP was as high as 0.409 over the 17 seasons. As of now, only three players have an OBP of over 0.400 among those who meet a minimum PA requirement for stats this season. He gained a total of 1,365 BBs, making him outdo the rest of athletes playing as of this season. Added to this, he topped the NL in OBP seven times.

Votto started losing his touch with balls in 2022. He barely went over 0.200 for the last two seasons with Cincinnati. He became a free agent after the 2023 season was over. Determined to continue his pro career, he signed a minor league contract with Toronto to find his way back to the big league. Held back by frequent injuries, he decided to retire from baseball.


Heon-Jae Lee uni@donga.com