GOODYEAR, Ariz. — At 35, Joey Votto is coming off another All-Star season, but that doesn't mean it was a Joey Votto season
"i don't want to use the word 'embarrassing' because i was actually quite proud of the effort last year. I just wasn't satisfied with my performance," the Reds first baseman said at Spring Training this week.
It wasn't horrible. But the consistency was lacking. The power was diminished. A year after nearly winning the NL MVP with 36 homers, 100 RBI and a .320 batting average in 2017, Votto's numbers dropped to 12 homers, 67 RBI and .284. His homer total was a career-low for a full season.
"The one thing i've found as I've gotten older, you just have to put in more reps and those reps have to be technically sound, and I felt last year i was a little sloppy with that," Votto said.
