Best Cincinnati Reds Ever: Joey Votto v. Norm Charlton

Second Round Matchup | No. 1 Joey Votto v. No. 8 Norm Charlton

The next second round matchup in our “Best Red Ever” tournament features the current face of the Cincinnati Reds and one of the 1990 Nasty Boys.

Votto:

Joey Votto’s first round win (97 percent) over Felipe Lopez in our Best Cincinnati Reds Ever tournament — along with a detailed write-up — can be found here.

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Without a doubt, the best Cincinnati Reds hitter of the 21st century — with an argument for the best in the team’s history — is Votto. To date, the 10-year veteran has hit .310 with 277 doubles, 193 home runs and 639 runs batted in. He also has one of the best eyes in the history of the sport, with his career .422 on-base percentage currently ranking 17th on the all-time list.Votto was named to the NL All-Star team for the first time in his career — his first of four straight selections — and helped lead the Reds to their first playoff appearance in 15 years. For his efforts, he was named the NL Most Valuable Player, beating out Albert Pujols by hitting .324/.424/.600 with 37 home runs, 113 runs batted in and a 6.9 fWAR. After another brilliant season in 2011, he was signed to a 10-year, $225 million contract extension.

Highlights

— ranks first in career OBP (.420) with the Reds

— ranks second in career SLG (.529) with the Reds

— ranks first in career OPS (.949) with the Reds

— ranks 11th in career batting average (.307) for the Reds

— ranks sixth in career walks (795) with the Reds

— ranks ninth in career home runs (203) with the Reds

— ranks 10th in career doubles (288) with the Reds

— MVP award winner

— Gold Glove Award winner

Charlton:

Norm Charlton’s win in the first round (54 percent) over Randy Myers — along with a detailed write-up — can be found here.

One of the three anchors of the Cincinnati Reds’ 1990 Nasty Boys, Norm Charlton had a scorching fastball that he relentlessly threw — inside and out. Maybe the least effective of the trio, The Sheriff still spent his first five seasons with the Reds and had an ERA over 3.00 just once — his rookie season — and never higher than 3.96.During the ‘Nasty Boy’ season, he split time as both a starter and a reliever. Making 16 starts and 40 relief appearances, Charlton pitched a career high 154 1/3 innings while striking out 117 batters. Of course, his wild attitude led to some wild pitches, too. He walked 70 batters and registered nine wild pitches during the season. His 2.74 ERA — pretty darn good — was actually the worst of the terrorizing trio.

Highlights

— ranks 25th in career saves (29) for the Reds

— one of the three Nasty Boys of the 1990 season

— World Series winner

— All-Star selection

Next: Find the tournament breakdown here!

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