<p>One of the best Canadian-born baseball players has called it a career, as first baseman <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/v/vottojo01.shtml">Joey Votto</a> has announced <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C-8q6oGvwxV/">via Instagram</a> that he is hanging up his cleats and heading to retirement.</p>
<p>In typical Votto fashion, his announcement on social media was not without some fun jabs and jovial commentary, &#8220;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. Thank you for all the support during my attempt&#8230; 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.&#8221;</p>
<p>After a 17-year career with the Cincinnati Reds, Votto joined the Toronto Blue Jays on a minor league deal towards the end of Spring Training this past offseason, looking for a spot on the Jays bench as the club needed a power bat from the left side. An ankle injury he suffered during his first game with the Jays hampered him for a good portion of the year and with Buffalo, he struggled to gain his footing at the plate. With the Bisons, Votto posted a .143/.275/.214 slash line with one home run, four RBIs, and a .489 OPS through 15 games.</p>
<h2>Joey Votto has announced his retirement from baseball</h2>
<p>Drafted by the Reds in the second round of the 2002 MLB Draft, the Etobicoke, Ontario product made his debut in 2007 and was a force in the NL Central for years. Through 2056 games, Votto amassed a .294/.409/.511 slash line with 459 doubles, 356 home runs, and 1144 RBIs with 1365 walks &#8211; the most among active baseball players at the time of his retirement.</p>
<p>His best season came in 2010, when he earned his first All-Star nod while also winning the NL MVP award by leading the league in OBP (.424) and leading the NL in SLG (.600) and OPS (1.024) with 37 home runs and 113 RBIs. For his career, the lefty slugger was a six-time All-Star, a Hank Aaron Award winner, and a Gold Glove Award winner for his time at second base.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">7 time Tip O’Neill award winner has retired. Happy retirement Joey. <a href="https://t.co/x6Q4JK461Q">https://t.co/x6Q4JK461Q</a> <a href="https://t.co/Opg3tpmDCo">pic.twitter.com/Opg3tpmDCo</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum 🇨🇦⚾️ (@CDNBaseballHOF) <a href="https://twitter.com/CDNBaseballHOF/status/1826397005213843608?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 21, 2024</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Votto finishes his career with a 64.5 bWAR and should be in consideration for the Baseball Hall of Fame when he becomes eligible.</p>
<p>Amongst the <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/bio/Canada_born.shtml">Canadian-born Major League rankings</a>, he leads all Canucks in walks, OBP, games played (2056), and plate appearances (8746) while sitting second behind Larry Walker in doubles, home runs, bWAR, OPS, RBIs, and hits (2135). Votto leads all Canadians in Tip O&#8217;Neill Awards (seven) and will be a shoo-in for the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.</p>
<p>While fans won&#8217;t be able to see Votto donning a Blue Jays uniform, it&#8217;s a hat tip to one of the best Canadian players to ever play the game of baseball.</p>


One of the best Canadian-born baseball players has called it a career, as first baseman <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/v/vottojo01.shtml">Joey Votto</a> has announced <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C-8q6oGvwxV/">via Instagram</a> that he is hanging up his cleats and heading to retirement.

In typical Votto fashion, his announcement on social media was not without some fun jabs and jovial commentary, "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. Thank you for all the support during my attempt... 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."

After a 17-year career with the Cincinnati Reds, Votto joined the Toronto Blue Jays on a minor league deal towards the end of Spring Training this past offseason, looking for a spot on the Jays bench as the club needed a power bat from the left side. An ankle injury he suffered during his first game with the Jays hampered him for a good portion of the year and with Buffalo, he struggled to gain his footing at the plate. With the Bisons, Votto posted a .143/.275/.214 slash line with one home run, four RBIs, and a .489 OPS through 15 games.
<h2>Joey Votto has announced his retirement from baseball</h2>
Drafted by the Reds in the second round of the 2002 MLB Draft, the Etobicoke, Ontario product made his debut in 2007 and was a force in the NL Central for years. Through 2056 games, Votto amassed a .294/.409/.511 slash line with 459 doubles, 356 home runs, and 1144 RBIs with 1365 walks - the most among active baseball players at the time of his retirement.

His best season came in 2010, when he earned his first All-Star nod while also winning the NL MVP award by leading the league in OBP (.424) and leading the NL in SLG (.600) and OPS (1.024) with 37 home runs and 113 RBIs. For his career, the lefty slugger was a six-time All-Star, a Hank Aaron Award winner, and a Gold Glove Award winner for his time at second base.

https://twitter.com/CDNBaseballHOF/status/1826397005213843608

Votto finishes his career with a 64.5 bWAR and should be in consideration for the Baseball Hall of Fame when he becomes eligible.

Amongst the <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/bio/Canada_born.shtml">Canadian-born Major League rankings</a>, he leads all Canucks in walks, OBP, games played (2056), and plate appearances (8746) while sitting second behind Larry Walker in doubles, home runs, bWAR, OPS, RBIs, and hits (2135). Votto leads all Canadians in Tip O'Neill Awards (seven) and will be a shoo-in for the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.

While fans won't be able to see Votto donning a Blue Jays uniform, it's a hat tip to one of the best Canadian players to ever play the game of baseball.

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