Cincinnati Reds’ first baseman Joey Votto showing once again why he is the best

The Cincinnati Reds have the best first baseman in the National League and the second best offensive player in baseball.

It’s time for Cincinnati Reds’ fans to get behind the reality of their current first baseman.  Joey Votto is best first baseman in the league and will make the Hall of Fame.  A catastrophic injury is all that could hold him back.

Every year at the end of the season Votto is among the MLB leaders in runs created.  It is a great stat to determine the line-up neutral offensive value of a player.  Mike Trout is the only player that fairly consistently beats Votto.

But it is more than a single stat that makes Votto impressive.  This year all of the press has been going to three first basemen in the National League not named Votto, in Ryan Zimmerman, Eric Thames, and Anthony Rizzo.

Currently, Zimmerman leads the NL in batting and has been competitive in a potential Triple Crown race so far this season.  Thames came out of the shoot early with plus power, but Votto has actually caught him for NL lead in home runs among first baseman.  Rizzo, meanwhile, is the heart and soul of the Chicago Cubs, but is just a good offensive player as opposed to elite.

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Joey Votto approaches the All-Star break showing the Cincinnati Reds’ fans how he is the best.

Votto is among the MLB leaders for so many categories for first basemen it is humorous.  Reds’ fans don’t see how good he is because they are distracted by the rest of the team.  Here is a look at some of the stats.

Votto is first in the MLB among first basemen in walks and strikeouts per game.  Votto is second in MLB first basemen in runs scored, home runs,  and OBP.

He is also in the top ten in hits, doubles, RBIs, steals, batting average, slugging, and OPS.

That doesn’t impress some people much, so Votto can be compared to all batters.  Votto trails Kris Bryant of the Chicago Cubs by one walk for the MLB lead.  Among everyday starters, Eduardo Nunez of the San Francisco Giants leads MLB in fewest strikeouts per game, but no one who has played at least 70 games has fewer strikeouts than Votto.

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Every year Reds’ fans need to be reminded how good Votto is.  Every year they blame him and his contract for what ails the teams.  At many games, the highlight is watching the magnificence of Votto at the plate.  Otherwise, the Reds’ games would be unbearable.