Joey Votto, former NL MVP and Reds great, retires after 17 MLB seasons

Joey Votto has announced his retirement. The 40-year-old first baseman spent 17 major-league seasons with the Reds before signing with the Blue Jays in the offseason, but he was never able to get back to the majors in 2024. 

Votto retires a six-time All-Star who won a Gold Glove and the 2010 NL MVP.   

Drafted out of high school by the Reds in the second round in 2002, Votto debuted with the Reds in September of 2007 at age 23. He was immediately productive, slashing .321/.360./548 in 89 plate appearances. In 2008, he still had rookie eligibility and was good enough to finish second in NL Rookie of the Year voting. It was just two years later he made the All-Star team for the first time and took home MVP honors.

Votto finishes with 2,135 hits, 459 doubles, 356 home runs, 1,144 RBI, 1,171 runs and 64.5 WAR. He was a career .294/.409/.511 (144 OPS+) hitter. He led the league in on-base percentage seven times. walks five times, OPS twice, slugging percentage once, doubles once, WAR once and OPS+ once. 

Long one of the best batsmiths in baseball, Votto hit .315/.436/.545 (162 OPS+) through his prime, which was 2009-17. He was also a quality defender and sneaky-good baserunner (he got into double digits in stolen bases twice based mostly on know-how). 

In addition to winning the 2010 MVP, Votto finished in the top seven five other seasons, including a runner-up (2017) and a third-place finish (2015). 

The Reds were the first professional team and are a storied franchise. Votto ranks fourth in career WAR for the franchise behind legends Pete Rose, Johnny Bench and Barry Larkin. He’s second in on-base percentage to Joe Morgan, second in total bases to Rose, second in doubles to Rose, second in home runs to Bench and second in OPS to Frank Robinson. He’s the all-time Reds leader in walks. 

Votto also ranks sixth in slugging, fourth in runs, fifth in hits, second in extra-base hits and second in times on base in Reds history. 

He truly was one of the greatest players in Reds history. The Reds never won a playoff series with Votto on the team, which means he won’t crack the inner circle (a lot of the names mentioned above) for that fan base, but his individual statistical line puts him in the conversation.