Cincinnati Reds fans implore Joey Votto to not retire as franchise icon suits up for final home game of 2023: "Hoping for another year"

Joey Votto may be retiring at the end of this season. The Cincinnati Reds icon has not confirmed or denied these rumors, but it would not be a surprise. The first baseman is 40 years old and has not been in the same form in recent years, so he could hang it up and not surprise anyone.

If that ends up being the case once this season ends, today would mark his final home game. Presuming the Reds, who are currently 2.5 games back of the third wild card, do not make the playoffs, today would be their final home game of 2023.

Given the unknown nature of the future, they're taking the opportunity to honor him. They gave him a standing ovation today since it very well could be the last time they have the chance to do so. The playoffs may be out, and Votto may be done.

If that's the case, then it's been a great ride for Votto and the Reds, whose fans are begging for him to reconsider his rumored departure.

The Reds faithful are clearly partial to Votto, even if he's struggled. It's tough to let an icon like that go, especially after 17 professional seasons. He's never played for anyone else, and save for injury, no one has started at first base for the Reds since he came up.

Joey Votto could retire this year

Joey Votto has not been the same hitter over the last few seasons. His career wRC+ of 145 is incredible. He's been a great hitter for his career, but not as much lately.

In 2021, he had an excellent season of 140 wRC+ and 3.7 fWAR. It's been downhill since then. A 93 wRC+ in 2022 was met with -0.8 fWAR. He was bad. This year, he's at 96 wRC+ and a 0.0 fWAR. He hasn't played as much due to injury, but he hasn't been good.

Retirement may be his decision, but if he believes he can do better and help the team, he may decide to run it back again.

About the author

Zachary is a journalist covering NFL, Professional Golf, esports, and Major League Baseball at Sportskeeda. He has a degree in writing/editing from Southern Adventist University (USA), and in his spare time, he likes to play games such as Minecraft, Pokémon and Fortnite, or watch sports.

Ever since he was a youth football wide receiver, Zachary has been an avid NFL fan. He loves the Carolina Panthers, with Cam Newton being his all-time favorite player (with respect to the close second, Steve Smith). If you ever meet Zachary, prepare to hear all about how underrated Newton was and how he single-handedly dragged the Panthers to Super Bowl 50.

Zachary is also a big fan of top golfers like Tiger Woods, Wyndham Clark, and Scottie Scheffler. He enjoys watching them and hopes that Woods can return to form soon and win again.

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