Joey Votto certainly did not lose his sense of humor over the offseason.
Votto reported to the Cincinnati Reds’ spring training in Arizona on Sunday, and he spoke with the media. He was sure to open up his session with a joke about getting fatter over the offseason.
Joey Votto is here and talked about his offseason goals. “I tried to get fatter. I succeeded at that apparently. We did all the testing and I am fatter."
— Zach Buchanan (@ZachENQ) February 18, 2018
Jokes aside, there is little doubt that Votto showed up to camp ready to play. In 2017, the 34-year-old first baseman had one of his finest seasons as a pro. Votto batted .320 with 34 doubles and 36 home runs. His .578 slugging percentage and 1.032 OPS were both the second-highest marks of his career. Perhaps more impressively, he walked 134 times and only struck out 83 times, which represented the best ratio of his career.
Votto quietly continues to be one of the best players in baseball, and he has an underrated personality as well.
