TORONTO – Canadian baseball star Joey Votto is retiring.
The 40-year-old first baseman announced in an Instagram post Wednesday evening that he’s hanging up his cleats.
“That’s it. I’m done,” Votto said in a video. “I am officially retiring from baseball.”
Votto played 17 MLB seasons, earning six all-star selections, one Gold Glove and a 2010 National League MVP award.
After playing his entire career with the Cincinnati Reds, the Toronto native signed a minor-league contract with the Blue Jays last spring, but never played a major-league game for his hometown team.
Votto homered off Philadelphia’s Zack Wheeler in his only spring training at-bat on March 17 for the Blue Jays before he stepped on a bat in the dugout later in that game and was sidelined for the next three months.
He had one home run, four runs batted in and a .143 average in 15 games with Triple-A Buffalo this season.
“Toronto + Canada, I wanted to play in front of you. Sigh, I tried with all my heart to play for my people. I’m just not good anymore,” Votto wrote in his post, thanking his parents, brother and former teammates and coaches.
“Thank you for all the support during my attempt.”
Votto made his announcement minutes before Toronto hosted Cincinnati in the finale of a three-game series Wednesday night. The Reds won 11-7.
Votto represented Canada at the World Baseball Classic in 2009 and 2013. He won the Lou Marsh Trophy, since renamed the Northern Star Award, as the Canadian athlete of the year awarded by a panel of journalists in 2010 and 2017.
Drafted out of high school by the Reds in the second round of the 2002 MLB draft, Votto hit .294 with 356 home runs and 1,444 RBI in 2,056 games. He finishes with a career on-base plus slugging percentage of .920.
Votto posted a career-best 37 home runs during his MVP season. He also homered 36 times in 2017 and 2021.
Votto could become the third Canadian player elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., after pitcher Fergie Jenkins of Chatham, Ont., (class of 1991) and slugger Larry Walker of Maple Ridge, B.C. (2020).
He will be eligible for induction in 2029.
The longtime Red became a free agent last fall following the end of a 12-year, US$251.5-million contract.
After a shoulder injury limited him to 65 games last season, Cincinnati declined his $20-million option for 2024.
“To the MLB fans. You energized me with your cheers, I loved the boos, the trash talk, the moments where I broke a road cities moment, or was humbled on stage,” Votto wrote.
“I’ll never forget, early in my career, my first time at Wrigley Field and the crowd standing and cheering toward my failure. I remember standing at the plate, smiling and thinking, this is my home. I belong here.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 21, 2024.