Joey Votto took one last swing at the majors with the Blue Jays. Why he chose to retire and abandon that dream

Joey Votto, one of the best baseball players this country ever produced, has decided to call it a career.
Votto made the unexpected announcement via a short video in a parking lot outside of Sahlen Field at Triple-A Buffalo early Wednesday evening. It was posted on Instagram just a few minutes before his former Cincinnati Reds team took on the Blue Jays in a series finale.
Shortly after recording the video, Votto hopped in a car with the intention of watching the two teams at Rogers Centre. Car issues stopped that from happening, but he did make it to the ballpark in time to say hello to his former teammates and to speak with the media approximately an hour after the game ended.
“I didn’t feel at any point in time like I was anywhere near major league ready,” said Votto, who was trying to work his way into game shape while also rehabbing an ankle injury in Buffalo. “I can say to the very last pitch I was giving my very all, but there’s an end for all athletes. Time is undefeated, as they say.”
Votto played all 17 years of his big-league career with the Reds. He was interested in returning for an 18th season, but struggled to find any guaranteed deals via free agency and instead later settled for a minor-league deal with his hometown Blue Jays.
The initial expectation was that Votto would compete against Daniel Vogelbach for a spot on the Jays’ roster. He homered off Philadelphia’s Zack Wheeler in his spring debut but then rolled his ankle upon returning to the dugout. The injury kept Votto out for the remainder of camp and continued to be a problem when he re-aggravated the injury several weeks later.
There were only sporadic updates about Votto’s health during the ensuing months. It wasn’t until mid-June that the product of Etobicoke began to ramp up his workouts before more setbacks followed. Votto returned again in early August, this time for Triple-A Buffalo, but he managed to hit just .143 with one extra-base hit in 15 games before deciding to retire.
“I’m regretful and sad I didn’t get to play in front of the Toronto fans,” Votto said. “I say that sincerely. The feeling of playing in front of the fans here would have meant a lot to a lot of people that I’m close to. But I’ve taken pride in playing well. I want to play well and I wasn’t doing that. So I don’t think I would have given them a satisfying experience.”
Votto, a former second-round pick of the 2002 draft, is a lock to be inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, and he’ll likely end up joining Ferguson Jenkins and Larry Walker to become the third Canadian player inducted into Cooperstown.
The accolades speak for themselves. The only Canadian to finish his big-league career with more hits, home runs and RBIs than Votto was Walker. Votto also ranks third among Canadians in wins above replacement and he was tops in on-base percentage. He was a six-time all-star, a Gold Glove winner, the 2010 National League MVP and two-time winner of the Lou Marsh award as top Canadian athlete (now named the Northern Star Award).
With the Reds in town this week, and Buffalo just a short drive away, there was an opportunity for the Jays to offer a fond farewell to one of Toronto’s greatest athletes of all-time. It would have been fitting if Votto stepped into the box for one last at-bat, or was at least welcomed onto the field for a pre-game celebration to honour his career.
“It would’ve been awesome for him to be here and to play against him,” Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson said after his team beat the Jays 11-7 on Wednesday. “But he had a hell of a career, and it was an honour to get to know him as a friend and as a player. He’s an all-time great.”
Votto wasn’t interested in that type of dog and pony show. He politely dismissed a question from a Cincinnati reporter when asked whether he would have liked to retire against the Reds. That was never the goal. When Votto signed with the Jays, he intended on becoming an important contributor and that had been his focus until he realized it was no longer possible.
“It doesn’t matter how you think you can outwit someone,” Votto said while referencing how one achieves success in baseball. “You have to be physical. There’s no chess in this game whatsoever. This is a heavyweight fight. There are limited tactics involved, physical trumps everything, and physical was not there for me.”
Votto finishes his career with a .294 average and .920 on-base plus slugging percentage. He will be remembered as an on-base machine who was one of the most disciplined hitters of his generation. Votto led MLB in walks three times and had nine seasons with an on-base percentage over .400.
The ending wasn’t what Votto or fans around these parts had been hoping for, but everything that came before certainly was. One of the best to ever do it in this country has decided to say goodbye to the game he loved, and he leaves behind a legacy that will be fondly remembered for generations to come.