CINCINNATI — One day Joey Votto may have as many nicknames as his baseball hero — Teddy Ballgame, The Splendid Splinter, The Thumper, The Kid.
Votto, whose one nickname right now is Vottomatic, is a Ted Williams fan, even though Williams quit playing baseball 23 years before Votto was born.
It all began shortly after Votto was selected in the second round of the 2002 draft by the Cincinnati Reds. Shortly after he signed and reported, Votto was perusing items in a used bookstore when he came across a book entitled, "The Science of Hitting," by Ted Williams. Williams already was an idol and icon to the young Votto.
Votto purchased the book and read it — over and over and over — until it was dog-eared and frayed.
And nobody has put what he learned to better use than the 27-year-old first baseman for the Reds. Friday night, it was Joey Votto MVP bobblehead night for a standing-room-only crowd in Great American Ball Park.
When Votto singled in the first inning, it was the 27th straight game this season he has reached base at least once — by hit, walk or hit by pitch. He smiled broadly and admitted he didn't know Ted Williams holds the all-time record — 84 straight games reaching base at least once, accomplished in 1959.
Votto decided at an early age to learn all he could about Williams.
"I couldn't help but to gravitate toward the greatest hitter of all time," Votto said. "I couldn't relate to Babe Ruth, not that I can relate to Ted Williams, but there was something different about him. He was a legend and a great American hero even though I'm not American myself. (Votto was born in Toronto, Canada.)
"He was just an amazing person to read about and to watch films of and to hear stories about," Votto added. "I don't know what else to say about him other than I wish I had got to see him. One of my bigger baseball regrets was that he passed away before I could meet him as I inched my way up the minor-league chain. I definitely would have taken advantage of meeting him during one of the spring trainings."
Asked about what books he has read about Williams, Votto smiled and said, "I've read them all. All of 'em. I went through a phase there. I don't really read much about baseball because I treat it as a job. When I was younger he was like a superhero to me and I read everything about him — what he would do with his eyes, the way he acted, the way he sacrificed four years of his baseball life to go to war. He could have tacked on another 175 homers and he might have set the record," Votto said.
There is a major-league scout who lived less than a mile from Votto's house but never spotted the potential and says now, "Man, I missed the boat on him. That's one of the big regrets I've had. I missed him."
Kasey McKeon was the scouting director for the Reds in 2002 and said he nearly had to throw fits and fists at the front office to get them to draft Votto.
"I actually kept Votto hidden," said McKeon, now a scout for the Washington Nationals. "Nobody knew about him (not even his neighbor, the scout). He wasn't listed in the Top 20 of Baseball America so I took some hits from fans on chat rooms and blogs for drafting this guy nobody ever heard of."
Votto nearly won Rookie of the Year in 2008 when he hit .297 with 24 homers and 84 RBI, finishing second to Chicaco Cubs catcher Geovany Soto.
And his numbers have climbed steadily ever since — .323, 25, 84 in 2009 and .324 37, 113 last year en route to the NL MVP. This year? Even better — .378, 5, 16 in 26 games.
Votto's closest teammate and locker neighbor, veteran Scott Rolen, marvels over watching Votto perform.
To some players, winning an MVP is the pinnacle, the mountaintop, no more deserts to cross. Rolen said one year after Votto won the MVP, "I think Votto is even better."
"I think winining the MVP made him better because of the confidence factor. It is a confidence game, and he has a lot of it when he goes to the plate, which allows him to do some incredible things," Rolen said.
"He is one of those rare players that every time he comes to the plate you expect something big to happen. Every time. You ask yourself, 'How far is this one going to go, and how loud is this one going to be? How hard is this ball going to be hit.'"
Rolen played in St. Louis with multi-MVP Albert Pujols and now plays with Votto and senses similarities.
"He and Pujols both have their stances and their approaches, and they never seem to change them. They both have an incredible knack for having the baseball find the barrel of the bat."
Isn't that the way Ted Williams did it?
