Joey Votto

Joseph Daniel Votto (born September 10, 1983) is a Canadian-American professional baseball first baseman in the Toronto Blue Jays organization.

He has shown respect for the Dominican league, particularly he honoured the late Dominican player Tony Fernández with a message on his cap when the former Toronto Blue Jays member, who created pleasant memories for the Canadian fans in the 1990s, passed away in 2020.

Votto enrolled in high school at Richview Collegiate Institute in 1997.

In high school, he also played basketball—playing point guard and once scoring 37 points in a game—and hockey.

He played for the Etobicoke Rangers baseball program.

After high school, Votto signed a National Letter of Intent to play college baseball for the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers.

The Cincinnati Reds selected Votto out of high school in the second round with the 44th overall selection of the 2002 MLB draft.

While playing for the Reds' affiliate Dayton Dragons of the Class A Midwest League, he hit 26 doubles and 14 home runs with a batting average of .302.

He was promoted to the Potomac Cannons of the Class A-Advanced Carolina League and hit five more home runs in 20 games to end the season with 19 round-trippers.

In addition to playing first base in the minors, Votto made appearances in the outfield and as a catcher.

During the 2005 campaign with the Sarasota Reds of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League, he hit 19 home runs but struck out 122 times and his batting average dropped nearly 50 points to .256.

Votto rebounded in 2006 with the best season of his minor league career.

Playing for the Chattanooga Lookouts of the Class AA Southern League, he improved his batting average to .319, and hit 46 doubles and 22 home runs.

He led the Southern League in batting average and total bases and was third in home runs and runs batted in (RBI).

He was selected to play in the 2006 All-Star Futures Game on the World Team.

He was named to both the Mid-Season and Post-Season Southern League All-Star teams, and was voted a minor league all-star by Baseball America.

He culminated his season by winning the Southern League Most Valuable Player Award.

During his five seasons in the minors, Votto carried Ted Williams' The Science of Hitting with him.

Later that year, Votto also played in the Dominican Winter League, playing for the Leones del Escogido team during the 2006–2007 season, shortly before starting his MLB career.

He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, for whom he made his MLB debut in 2007.

He was the first Canadian MLB player since Larry Walker to have 2,000 hits, 300 home runs and 1,000 career runs batted in (RBI).

Votto is a six-time MLB All-Star, a seven-time Tip O'Neill Award winner, and two-time Lou Marsh Trophy winner as Canada's athlete of the year.

Votto started the 2007 season playing for the Louisville Bats of the Class AAA International League.

The Reds promoted Votto to the major leagues on September 1, 2007.

He made his major league debut on September 4, striking out against Guillermo Mota of the New York Mets.

In his second major league at-bat, he hit his first career home run.

He went 3-for-5 and scored two runs as the Reds won the game, 7–0.

On September 8, he went 1-for-3 with a home run and three runs batted in.

His three RBI were the only Reds' runs as they lost to the Milwaukee Brewers, 4–3.

In his next game, he went 2-for-4.

On September 14, he stole his first career base against the Brewers.

He ended the season going 2-for-4 with a home run and five RBI in the Cincinnati Reds' final game of the 2007 season.

He finished the season batting .321 with four home runs and 17 RBI.

His father was a chef and a baseball fan who died at age 52 in 2008.

He is of Italian and English descent.

As a child, he adorned his wall with a Ted Williams poster.

In 2010, he won the National League (NL) MVP Award and the NL Hank Aaron Award.

Among all active players at the end of the 2018 season, he was first in career on-base percentage (.427), second in OPS (.957) and walks (1,104), and fourth in batting average (.311).

Votto was born to Wendy (née Howell) and Joseph Votto in Toronto, Ontario, and grew up in the city of Etobicoke.

His mother is a sommelier and restaurant manager.