Joey Votto, former MVP and longtime Cincinnati Reds star, retires

Former NL MVP and six-time All-Star Joey Votto announced his retirement from baseball in a short video posted to social media Wednesday.

TORONTO — Former NL MVP and six-time All-Star Joey Votto announced his retirement from baseball in a short video posted to social media Wednesday.

After recording the video outside Buffalo’s Sahlen Field, where he’d been playing for the Blue Jays’ Triple-A team, Votto drove across the border to Toronto’s downtown stadium, where the Reds had just beaten the Blue Jays 11-7.

Votto went into the Cincinnati clubhouse to meet former teammates and manager David Bell, then spoke to reporters about his retirement decision.

The Toronto-born Votto signed a minor league contract with his hometown team in March and, following a lengthy layoff because of an ankle injury, had been playing at Triple-A. He went 6 for 42 with one homer and four RBIs in 15 games, 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.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/sports/joey-votto-retires-rcna167760

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