Cincinnati Reds: Watch Joey Votto’s deep fly make a big splash

It’s been an unlucky start to the season for Joey Votto. Heading into last night’s game versus the San Francisco Giants, the Cincinnati Reds‘ first baseman hadn’t hit a home run in his first 38 at-bats. He was due.

Votto is the most polarizing personality in the Reds clubhouse, and one of the most polarizing players in Cincinnati history. While his gigantic contract and lack of production in recent seasons is a constant topic of discussion among some of the fans throughout Reds Country, last night, the six-time All-Star proved that Votto still bangs.

Reds first baseman Joey Votto launched his first home run of the season.

With a 2-0 lead heading into the sixth inning, Joey Votto stepped into the batters box to face San Francisco reliever Jarlin Garcia who came in to replace starter Aaron Sanchez. Votto watched the first pitch and then launched the next ball he saw over the wall in left field and into McCovey Cove. The video below is courtesy of Bally Sports Cincinnati:

https://twitter.com/BallySportsCIN/status/1381806809955119111

Votto absolutely tattooed that ball. Per Baseball Savant, the ball left Votto’s bat at 106-MPH and traveled 384-feet. The funny thing is, Votto’s blast wasn’t the loudest or longest of the night. Jesse Winker sent a ball 397-feet and over the wall in center field during the third inning to give Cincinnati a 2-0 lead early.

Joey Votto has been trading power over patience so far this season. The 37-year-old has bumped his average exit velocity from 87.4-MPH in 2020 to 92.9-MPH so far in 2021. Votto’s max exit velocity of 113.6-MPH ranks among the Top 5% in all of baseball. However, Votto’s walk-rate of 4.7% is a huge change from his 16.6% from last season.

This new approach, while maybe not as efficient, is a welcome change. Votto had focused so much, in recent years, in getting on base, that we saw the former MVP fail to attack the ball. Votto has been more aggressive to start the 2021 season, and that’s hopefully a trend we continue to see as we move into the dog days of summer.

Joey Votto became the first player in Cincinnati Reds history to hit a baseball into McCovey Cove. Oracle Park was built in 2000, and with the litany of left-handed sluggers (Jay Bruce, Adam Dunn, Ken Griffey Jr.) that have passed through the Reds organization during that time, that’s quite the feat for the Reds’ first baseman.