ByChris Jaffe of the Hardball Times has been running some numbers and realized that today marks the 10,000th day that young Joey Votto has been alive.
In honor of that, I think I’ll repost my favorite picture of Votto that I’ve taken.
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This past weekend, the Baseball Writers’ Association of America held their annual gala to honor the best baseball players of the previous season. Joey Votto and Reds fan BubbaFan were there.
I’d never heard of this awards celebration, but then, that might be because the Reds have been out of the realm of “good” for so long, let alone this strange, uncharted territory of “great” that they seem to be flirting with. Votto was introduced to the black-tie optional crowd by Barry Larkin. Votto then stepped up to the podium.
“I’d especially like to thank [writer] Joe Strauss from St. Louis, who didn’t vote for me,” Votto quipped. “Guess who he voted for? As if Albert [Pujols] didn’t have enough MVP Awards already.”
Ah, Joey. How awesome you are.
BubbaFan was able to capture a few photos of Votto in his tuxedo. As someone who recently purchased his first tuxedo, Votto’s is nice-looking. I love that he’s wearing a bow-tie. It’s a touch big, though, and makes him look a bit like a boy at a wedding. Check out the rest of the photos over at RedReporter.
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Votto handing a kid his autographed item.
Unlike the Edgar Renteria signing, Votto’s managed to be completed just one day after leaking onto the internets. That’s 3 days faster!
The deal covers all of Votto’s arbitration years, but surprisingly does not include any free agent years. Typically, at least one free agent year is included in deals like this. The Jay Bruce deal includes multiple free agent years. Votto would have been with the Reds anyway during that time, but signing a deal allows him to escape the arbitration years and make much closer to market-value each year, even if he has an off one. But what’s in it for the Reds? The only thing I’ve seen mentioned is the certainty of knowing how much Votto will actually cost. You know, to make the accountant’s math easier. As Mark Sheldon writes, “Cincinnati is getting the benefit of cost certainty for a key player whose price tag could really escalate if he backs up his MVP season with another spectacular year in ’11.”
The Reds will save some money over the course of the deal, assuming Votto continues his MVP-caliber ways. The details of how the $38 million is divided among the three years is yet to be divulged.
ByThe MLB.com headline is “Reds reward MVP Votto with three-year deal.” Apparently the folks at MLB forgot that, though Votto sometimes plays like a seasoned veteran, due to the free agency rules, Votto was going to be in Cincinnati for the next three years regardless.
The only question left was how much he was going to make for those years, and that question has been answered:
The Reds on Sunday agreed to terms on a three-year, $38 million contract with first baseman and National League Most Valuable Player Joey Votto, baseball sources told MLB.com.
There is surely more analysis to come, such as whether the Reds or Votto got a bargain (the Red Hot Household is split on the issue) and whether the length of the deal is adequate (everyone but Votto probably would have liked another year).
ByThe writers got it right! With 31 of 32 first-place votes, Joey Votto was awarded the Most Valuable Player award. Oh, and whoever didn’t vote for Votto might want to look out.
Votto led the Cincinnati Reds to their first division title and first playoff appearance since 1995. Coincidentally, the last time a Red won the MVP award was in 1995, when Barry Larkin did the heavy lifting for Cincinnati.
Lots of fans, myself included, had some apprehension that Votto might be snubbed, as he had been for the All Star vote. Thankfully, he wasn’t. Because there was no way for fans to vote him in later.
Enjoy this one Joey. And I’d love to see you and Jay Bruce battling each other for the award next year.
