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A Look at Where Joey Votto's Career Stands in Regards to Baseball History

Seventeen-year major league veteran Joey Votto announced his retirement on Wednesday night. Here's a look at where his career stands with regards to baseball history.

Brady Farkas

Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto (19) waits in the dugout in the seventh inning of the baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Saturday, May 1, 2021, at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.
Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto (19) waits in the dugout in the seventh inning of the baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Saturday, May 1, 2021, at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. / Meg Vogel / USA TODAY NETWORK
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On Wednesday night, Cincinnati Reds legend Joey Votto announced his retirement after 17 years in the big leagues. After having his team option declined last offseason, Votto signed with the Toronto Blue Jays back in spring training.

An ankle injury forced him to miss several months of action, but he remained committed and tried to earn a call-up to Toronto, but it just didn't materialize. The 40-year-old hit .185 with two homers and 12 RBI through just 85 at-bats.

Votto leaves behind an incredibly impressive resume that will garner him significant support for induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. A lifetime .294 hitter, Votto hit 356 career home runs. He made six All-Star Games, won a Gold Glove Award and earned MVP back in 2010.

Votto also led baseball in on-base percentage in three different seasons. He led the National League seven times.

With regards to baseball history, there's a mountain of important and fun stats that paint the picture of just how good Votto was.

First, per Sarah Langs of MLB.com:

Joey Votto’s peak 7-year WAR was 46.9

that ranks 9th among 1B all-time, trailing only 7 players already in the HOF + Albert Pujols, who will be

Joey Votto led his league in OBP 7 times

only players to do so more in MLB history: Ted Williams (12), Barry Bonds (10), Babe Ruth (10) & Rogers Hornsby (9)

Per @StatsCentre:

Joey Votto key career stats and rankings among players in @Reds franchise history (1882-):
Walks- 1365 (1st)
Home runs- 356 (2nd)
Extra base hits- 837 (2nd)
Times on base- 3581 (2nd)
Total bases- 3644 (3rd)
Runs batted in- 1144 (3rd)
Runs scored- 1171 (4th)
Total hits- 2135 (5th)

And per Ryan Spaeder:

#Reds Joey Votto saw 35,630 pitches over 8,746 career plate appearances. He pulled a ball foul for an out just twice ever.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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