Former Cincinnati Reds standout Joey Votto has announced his retirement from professional baseball via social media on Wednesday.
Votto, who is currently in the Toronto Blue Jays system with the Buffalo Bisons in Triple-A told fans “That’s it, I’m done. I’m officially retired from baseball.
The 40 year old former National League MVP was attempting an MLB comeback with his hometown Blue Jays after Cincinnati declined to offer him a contract during the offseason. 2024 however has been an injury plagued campaign for Votto however, leading to a .143 average with one home run and 22 strikeouts across 42 at-bats.
After debuting in 2007 as a 23 year old with the Reds, Votto went on to amass 2,135 hits, 1,171 runs, 1,144 RBIs, and 356 HRs with a .294 career batting average in the majors. A 6x All-Star, Votto was the subject of much discussion this week as his former club opened a 3 game series vs. the Blue Jays, leading many to believe that Toronto could promote him to their MLB roster as a symbolic gesture in what was likely to be his final season.
However, that never materialized, with Votto himself brushing aside the rumours by telling reporters he wasn’t pushing for any kind of promotion. “Sigh, I tried with all my heart to play for my people. I’m just not good anymore,” he posted online.
A true student of the game, many baseball insiders believe Votto will eventually make a return to baseball on the front office of coaching side of things. However for now, he’s expected to take some well deserved time away from the game in order to get back to full health.
Photo: Jon Gudorf Photography. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.