MLB News: Joey Votto Told His Childhood Idol He Was Retiring Before Anyone Else

Joey Votto knew it was time for him to retire when he didn’t want to step into the batter’s box for the first time in his career.

The moment happened while Votto was with the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons and he declined a plate appearance when offered one by his manager. The rest of the details were revealed during an appearance on the Dan Patrick Show.

According to Votto, an unnamed Bisons coach approached him and asked if he wanted to take an at-bat. He declined.

“It wasn’t until the other day when I didn’t want a plate appearance,” Votto said. “When the coach was like, ‘do you want this at bat?” And I was like, ‘I don’t. I don’t.’ And I’ve never had that. I’ve always had a direction. I’ve always been like, ‘I’m going that way.'”

Votto was sitting on the bench next to Devon White, who was his favorite player growing up during the entirety of the scenario. White asked Votto what he was going to do regarding his hitting and Votto responded, “I think I’m done.”

At that moment, speaking with his childhood hero, the 40-year-old first baseman decided to retire from baseball.

“It was like a full-circle moment to be able to have a childhood icon and something that I was able to share with my father sitting next to me,” Votto said while fighting back tears. “Poignant, poetic, you draw connections even if they aren’t real but it felt like a genuine connection for me. That felt like an end to a story.”

Votto opened to up reporters about his decision to retire from the game on Thursday saying the game had passed him by.

“There was some big moments in Buffalo that I heard groans after outs,” Votto said. “When I was playing for (Triple-A) Louisville last year, groans or dissatisfaction after outs in big situations.”

“The game is faster. I’m not fast,” he continued. “This game is about more dynamic defense. The game has changed over the course of the back quarter of my career. I’m slower. And the one thing that I could attempt to do is perform offensively. And I’ve been awful, especially for my position. So, at some point the writing’s on the wall. And… I’m good.”

Before announcing his retirement, Votto spent the majority of the season with the Toronto Blue Jays’ Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo. However, he spent parts of the previous 17 seasons with the Cincinnati Reds where he was a six-time All-Star.

Votto ended his career after hitting 356 career home runs with a .294/.409/.511 slash line.