Joey Votto

Joey celebrates with a teammate.

Joey Votto was born on September 9, 1983, in the city of Etobicoke, in Toronto, Canada. His mother, Wendy, was an expert in wine and the manager of a restaurant. Joey’s father, Joseph, was a chef and a huge fan of baseball. When Joey was a little boy he would play catch with his dad almost every day. Joey practiced with a wooden bat instead of an aluminum bat and never gave up on his dream to play Major League Baseball.

While playing for the Majors, Joey Votto’s father died. Mr. Votto tried to suppress his feelings about this, but it caused him to become depressed. Dealing with his personal mental issues in a very public way influenced others in that it showed them professional athletes don’t have to pretend they aren’t human.

One little known fact is that Joey is a Canadian. He has played for the Reds since 2007. He plays first base and his batting average is .314. Joey has 511 hits, 90 home runs, and 298 runs batted in.

I admire that Joey Votto is a great hitter, which makes him an awesome baseball player. I also admire his personal traits that allowed him to become a great hitter. For example, he showed determination by practicing every day and never giving up on his dream.