Former NL MVP and six-time All-Star Joey Votto announced his retirement from baseball in a brief video posted on social media Wednesday.
After recording the video outside Buffalo’s Sahlen Field, where he had been playing for the Blue Jays’ Triple-A team, Votto drove to Toronto’s downtown stadium, where the Reds had just defeated the Blue Jays 11-7.
Votto then went into the Cincinnati clubhouse to meet with former teammates and manager David Bell, and spoke to reporters about his decision to retire.
The Toronto native signed a minor league contract with his hometown team in March. After a long break due to an ankle injury, he had been playing at Triple-A. In 15 games, he hit .143 with one home run and four RBIs, striking out 22 times.
“I had moments where I was like, ‘Is this the right thing to do?’ and ‘Do I want the organization to tell me I’m done?’” Votto said. “I just decided, you know, you’ve played long enough, you can interpret what’s going on, and I was awful. I was awful down there.”
Votto said he had “zero regrets” about retiring but expressed disappointment about not being able to play for the Blue Jays this season.
“I wanted to play a year in Toronto at home, in front of family, in front of my country,” he said. “I desperately wanted to participate in games here. I’m really saddened that I wasn’t able to make it happen.”
The 40-year-old first baseman became a free agent last fall after the end of a $251.5 million, 12-year contract with the Reds, his only team over 17 major league seasons. Cincinnati declined Votto’s $20 million option for 2024.
Votto noted that baseball has changed in recent years and that he could no longer perform at a high level.
“This game is faster,” Votto said. “I’m not fast. This game is about more dynamic defense. This game has changed over the course of the back quarter of my career. I’m slower. The one thing I could attempt to do is perform offensively, and I’ve been awful, especially for my position. At some point, the writing is on the wall.”
