In August, Joey Votto officially announced his retirement. He played 17 seasons in the majors, slashing .294/.409/.511 with 356 home runs and 1144 RBI. Additionally, he had 80 steals and collected 2135 hits.
He truly had an amazing career and I watched so many highlights during those 17 seasons. Recently, I watched Joey Votto’s interview and began to think about some questions.
Well, there might be some debates whether Joey Votto should get into the Hall of Fame. But for me, I’m thinking about it in a different way. Joey Votto was born in Canada and I was just thinking if he’s the best hitter, who was born in Canada. To answer this question, I decided to check on the great baseball reference website.
Firstly, let’s start with the number of hits. Larry Walker was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2020. In his career, he played 1988 games and collected 2160 hits. Among players born in Canada, Walker is the leader in career hits. Joey Votto is the other player with 2000+ hits. Justin Morneau spent 14 seasons in the majors, playing 1545 games. He had 1603 hits in his career.
In addition, let’s take a look at the number of home runs. Larry Walker blasted 383 home runs in his career. In particular, he smashed 49 home runs in 1997 and he was the NL MVP in 1997. Joey Votto crushed 300+ home runs in his career. Walker and Votto are the only 2 players, who were born in Canada and had 300+ home runs in the majors. Moreover, Matt Stairs spent 19 seasons in the majors and had 265 home runs. Furthermore, Justin Morneau belted 247 home runs in his career. Jason Bay played 11 seasons in the majors and had 222 home runs.
Thirdly, let’s look at the number of runs batted in. Larry Walker and Joey Votto each collected 1000+ RBI in their careers. Among the players born in Canada, they are the only 2 players with 1000+ RBI. Justin Morneau had 985 RBI in his career.
Finally, Joey Votto had great plate discipline. In his career, he drew 1365 walks. Among players born in Canada, he’s the only one with 1000+ walks. Larry Walker had 913 walks in his career. Furthermore, 3 players each drew 700+ walks. Russell Martin played 14 seasons in the majors and he drew 792 walks in his career. Matt Stairs had 717 walks and Jack Graney drew 712 walks.
Joey Votto had a great career. Nonetheless, among players born in Canada, Hall of Famer Larry Walker’s numbers look more impressive. Looking at the stats, Walker is now the leader in hits, home runs and RBI among players born in Canada. However, Joey Votto is the only one with 1000+ walks. And his numbers are impressive as well. Votto inked a minor league deal with the Blue Jays in March. Nevertheless, it’s a pity that we didn’t see him play in the big leagues in the Blue Jays uniform. But it’s a joy to watch his highlights and let’s see if he will be selected to the Hall of Fame.
No comments:
Post a Comment