Never doubt Joey Votto. Ever.
Plus: Spencer Steer is a good problem to have
In my weekly column over at the Mothership, I wrote about Spencer Steer, who is putting together a quietly impressive campaign that puts him in the center of the Rookie of the Year conversation. The 25 year-old is hitting .288/.353/.485, leading the Reds in home runs* and second only to Jake Fraley in RBI (25). He’s also top-two on the Reds in doubles and OPS. Not bad, right?
*My timing was pretty good too, since Steer blasted a two-run homer over the Green Monster to give the Reds the lead last night in Boston.
Steer is also the Reds first baseman at the moment, despite the fact that, before this season, he had played precisely 17 innings of first base in the minor leagues. He’s played plenty of third, second, and shortstop in his pro career, but not first base. Despite that, he’s been entirely credible at the position this year, which shouldn’t be surprising. He’s a good athlete, after all.
As I think you’ll discern if you read that column, I’m an unabashed fan of Steer. The kid can play. But a different player has been playing first base for the Cincinnati Reds since 2007. You may have heard of him: Joseph Daniel Votto. Votto, of course, is working his way back from shoulder surgery, and while he’s traveling with the team currently, he isn’t quite ready to return to the active roster. Soon, I hope.
Anyway, I should have predicted this, but twitter decided to be twitter this week. Here’s the Cincinnati Magazine tweet about my column:
It’s a pretty accurate description of my column, in that it presumes that Votto will be the Reds first baseman whenever he’s ready to return from the injured list. That should not be a controversial take — Votto is a future Hall-of-Famer, after all — but everything about Votto has been controversial for his entire career. That’s true in Cincinnati, at least, where Votto has been criticized far more often than he should have been over the years, for crimes such as “walking too often” and “not getting enough RBIs.”
Well, a certain segment of twitter is ready to give up on Votto because he wasn’t great last year while injured, and because he hasn’t played yet this season. A sampling of the discourse:
Votto is the least of anybody’s concerns. He should be a coach at this point or cheerleader.
No way Votto returns.
Hate to be that guy but Spencer steer should stay right where he is. Votto can Dh every other day but it’s time for the young guys to take over. Let the kids play.
There's a big assumption that Votto will return and hit as good or better than Steer or any of the other young players. I really hope he does but I'm skeptical right now
More like.. where does Votto play when he comes back?? Sorry man but no way they should be playing Votto at first mostly just because he’s Votto.. dude’s defense hasn’t been as good in his latter years and Steer has been pretty dang good at first.. DH for Votto probably.
Joey Votto should not return. Unless he has some 2021 left in him.
Let me be clear: Never Doubt Joey Votto. Ever.
I can state that with clarity, because I doubted him once before. In 2019, I actually wrote these words:
So yes, Votto is a great player. Or would it be more accurate to say that Votto was a great player? If you’re a Reds fan and you aren’t worried that Votto might finally be declining … well, you aren’t paying attention. …
We can’t ignore the possibility … that the Votto we’ve seen over the last year is closer to the Votto we can expect to see going forward. After all, he’ll turn 36 before the season ends, and Father Time is undefeated. There’s a very real chance that he’s going to be a solidly above-average hitter with great on-base skills whose power is dissipating before our very eyes. He can still be a valuable member of the Reds offense in that scenario, though no longer the cornerstone.
I would like to memory-hole that column, but it’s still live over at the Magazine.* At the time, I really believed that the 35 year-old Votto was beginning that age-related decline that gets everyone. I thought his best days were behind him.
*Never let it be said that I’m not honest with you here, even if I have to admit when I’m wrong.
To my credit, I finished that column with this caveat:
Then again, this is Votto we’re talking about. I’m certainly not going to bet against him returning to being Joey Votto. Are you?
If I’m being honest, that was just me hedging my bets. I didn’t really think we’d ever again see the Votto so many of us grew to know and love. But then 2021 happened. As a 37 year-old, Votto hit .266/.375/.563 with 36 homers (nearly a career high) and 99 RBI. All of a sudden, everyone was talking about Votto being a sure-fire Hall of Famer, including me. In the print edition of the Magazine, I even tried to make the case that he was the best Reds hitter of all time. Sue me.
Will Votto return to some semblance of his prior form at some point this year? I don’t know. He’ll be 40 years old before the season is over. Very few players are effective at that age. Major League Baseball is hard enough for the kiddos, much less the grizzled veterans.
But I know that I have never seen a Cincinnati player more dedicated to his craft than Votto. I’ve never seen anyone who understood his swing better, and worked more tirelessly to gain every single advantage that he could.
Put simply: I’ve never seen a Reds player like Joey Votto. And I can’t wait to see him back in the lineup this season. Spencer Steer is playing well, and Christian Encarnacion-Strand will arrive in town soon. Both will need to get regular at-bats, and both stand a very good chance of being starters on the next good Reds team. I want to see each of them starting at least six games a week for the Reds for the rest of this season, somewhere in the lineup.
But first base in Cincinnati belongs to Joey Votto until he abdicates the throne. And I have a feeling he isn’t quite ready to give it up. (Though it’s okay if he DHs some too.)
Hey, thanks for checking in again! I’m constantly amazed that so many of you open these emails (or read on the Substack app), and that more of you keep joining in the fun every week. Please feel free to share any of these newsletters with your friends and family who love Cincinnati sports. And tell me what you think, either in a comment below or with Substack Notes!
This week at Cincinnati Magazine: Spencer Steer is a good problem for the Reds to have
Recently, Steer has been on a tear, hitting .358/.411/.582 over his last 16 games while serving as Cincinnati’s everyday first baseman. For now, first base is Steer’s position, but few expect him to remain there. In the short term, the Reds hope Joey Votto will return to his rightful place on the right side of the infield. At Triple-A, Christian Encarnacion-Strand is pounding baseballs to the moon, and he may be the long-term solution at first base.
The Reds have some difficult decisions to make in the coming days. With Matt McLain already performing well at the big league level and top prospects Elly De La Cruz and Encarnacion-Strand on the verge of promotion very soon, there may not be enough positions for everyone. It’s a great problem to have, but where does Steer fit in? Read the rest of this week’s Reds column over at Cincinnati Magazine.
What’s Chad Watching?
Okay, this is ridiculous. Only one of these was a short — the execrable “Cliff Edwards and His Buckaroos” — but this constitutes entirely too much movie-watching for one week.* All but one of the rest of these are the result of having Turner Classic Movies on the television off and on during Memorial Day weekend. I concede that I was doing other things during some of these, but I challenge you to watch “Hollywood Canteen” without getting distracted. It’s not possible, I promise.
*I really need to watch “Succession,” I’m told.
Two of these were rewatches, “Mr. Blandings” (I’ll watch anything with Cary Grant and/or Myrna Loy) and one of my all-time favorites, “The Dirty Dozen.” That’s one that will never get old to me. An all-star cast (including the late Jim Brown); Lee Marvin is so great as Major Reisman, and one of my favorite directors, John Cassavetes, steals the show in an Oscar-nominated acting performance as Victor Franko. If you haven’t seen it, what are you waiting on? Five stars, highly recommended.
“Girl in the Picture” is the movie I really want to talk about right now, however. But I won’t, because I don’t want to spoil anything. It’s a documentary about a “young mother’s mysterious death and her son’s subsequent kidnapping.” That’s all I’ll say for now, but it kept surprising me for the entirety of the 101-minute run time. It’s on Netflix, and I highly recommend it. 4.5 stars out of 5.