Cincinnati Reds Joey Votto should help the other batters get on base

The Cincinnati Reds have arguably the best OBP player in fifty years.

The Cincinnati Reds have the MLB leading OBP batter in first baseman Joey Votto.  Based mostly on his skill to get on base, Votto placed second in the MVP voting.  It is that level of exceptionalism that he needs to teach his teammates.

This wasn’t a one year wonder, either.  This is the sixth time that Votto has led the National League in OBP.  He also led the NL in OPS for the third time in his career in 2017.

His OBP is somewhat caused by his high batting average, but is mostly attributable to the large number of walks that he takes.  He has led the NL in walks five times in his career.  Three of those times, he led the NL in intentional walks.

Someone focusing on getting on base and taking walks may not seem like an offensive juggernaut.  Votto, though, is exactly that.  He has led the NL in runs created three times in his career.

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He has more than 120 runs created three additional times.  This year he finished second in the NL in runs created behiond Charlie Blackmon.  He even beat Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels in runs created last season.

The other Cincinnati Reds need help figuring out Joey Votto.

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Votto has a unqiue skill set.  He is able to get on base like few others.  The rest of the Reds, though, don’t emulate their leader.

The Reds ranked exactly in the middle in the NL in OBP.  This is despite Votto’s great numbers.  That means that the Reds have some bad OBP batters.

The Reds outfield is relatively young and needs to learn from Votto.  Prospect Jesse Winker seems to get it, but the rest of the outfielders don’t.  Right fielder Scott Schebler had the highest OBP of the starters at .307.

The outfielders need to work with Votto on taking walks and getting on base.  Votto does little things like choking up on his bat.  That and other trade secrets should be shared with the outfield to help the team.

Next: Votto or Trout - who is the best?

Votto is the best individual offensive player in the NL, but it doesn’t show on the Reds.  His team is close to the middle of the pack offensively, despite hitting for power.  The Reds need to do whatever it takes to move up to the top of that pack.