Joey Votto Feels Good Enough To Play in the WBC

Joey Votto looks forward to hitting his first home run more than anything.

 He returned to the Reds after missing 48 games with a knee injury that robbed him of his power. His last home run was on June 24 off Scott Diamond of the Minnesota Twins. He injured his knee sliding into thirdbase in San Francisco on June 29.

Votto played in seven more games before arthroscopic surgery to repair the torn medial meniscus on his left knee. After a brief rehabilitation period, he tried to return but had to have a floating piece of cartilage removed on August 11.

"I had never been injured before," Votto said. "I have sympathy. People's injuries resonate with me more because of my experience. It probably made me a better teammate. It made me more aware of my body and its limitations, no matter how good I'm feeling."

Votto knew his limitations when he came back and had to adjust. Pitches that he could drive when fully healthy became singles rather than clearing or bouncing off the walls.

"I knew what I could and couldn't do," Votto said. "I tried to make the most of it. Despite the lack of power I was pretty proud of what I did do."

 Before his injury Votto was on pace to hit 66 doubles. The major league record is 67 set by Earl Webb of Boston in 1931. In the last 25 games of the season Votto hit .316 with eight doubles. He hit .389 in the Division Series against San Francisco but all seven of his hits were singles. He finished with 44 doubles just seven shy of the Reds' team record held by Frank Robinson in 1962 and Pete Rose in 1978. Votto still led the National League with a .474 on-base-percentage but fell 27 plate appearances short of qualifying for the NL batting crown. He finished with a .337 average while NL batting champion Buster Posey hit .336.

Votto is now looking forward to forgetting the injury and hitting his first home run, "hopefully opening day." The 29-year had his physical Friday morning and went through all of his tests.

"They had very positive things to say but ultimately the real test is on the field," Votto said. "I am just trying to get my legs back to 100 percent. It's not perfect but think that after surgery my expectations realistically you're not going to be perfect five months out. However, as far as movement, being able to do baseball stuff, hitting, throwing, I feel really good."

 Votto doesn't mind answering questions about his knee but does want to put it behind him. "I personally would like to feel like it is less in the forefront of me doing my job," Votto said.

The 2010 NL Most Valuable Player feels good enough that he would like to compete in the the World Baseball Classic as a member of the Canadian Team. Votto, a native of Toronto, Canada, played in the 2009 WBC.

"I am going to talk to the front office about that, certainly Dr. Kremchek and our training staff to see what they think about it. Ultimately, it should be a group decision," Votto said. "I'd like to play certainly spring training is too long this year. Why not?"

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