Joey Votto Defends His Approach At The Plate

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Joey Votto won the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 2010 with a monster season.

He drove in a career-high 113 runs and started a run of four straight season in which he led the league in on-base percentage.  He drove in 103 runs the next season.

Votto suffered a knee on June 29, 2012 the year in which he signed a $206 million contract extension.

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He played all 162 games in 2013 but his RBI total fell to 73, bringing criticism for being too selective at the plate.  The argument is that Votto is paid to drive in runs and has been drawing walks at the expense of RBI.

"I think it is to be expected," Votto said.  "I am the guy with the big contract. There are times when it can be a bit of a nuisance because I have to answer questions but most of it is noise. I think that I've proven when healthy that I'm a helpful part of the team. In terms of being in the middle of it, I have to choose my words carefully.  I think it is really silly and I'm not going to use the word ignorant, but ignorant. I also think that there is some validity to it because it is coming from a perspective that is being nostalgic. I don't think that everything has been taken into context. Ultimately, it's entertainment. If there weren't debates like this, what are we doing.  I think it's great. I'm the bjg money guy that is supposed to do certain things and has done certain things in the past. They expect it in the future.  I'm not doing it so let's talk about it."

Pete Rose defended Votto in a recent interview.  Rose said that Votto should keep being selective at the plate, refrain from swinging at pitches out of the strike zone. He said that it was up to the Reds to find someone to drive in runs behind Votto.

A study by Stats Inc, backs up Rose statistically.


2014 MLB
Pitches charted out of strike zone: 7695-for-45359 (.170)
Pitches charted in strike zone: 33900-for-120255 (.282)

2014 Votto
Pitches charted out of strike zone: 4-for-54 (.074)
Pitches charted in strike zone: 52-for-166 (.313)

Career Votto
Pitches charted out of strike zone: 167-for-927 (.180)
Pitches charted in strike zone: 888-for-2473 (.359)

'I'm glad I can be a lightning rod, as long as I'm performing," Votto said.  "Whether its the 2010 version or the 2013 version, you can not deny that I have been able to provide value to the team. In both examples, I was part of a playoff team."