November 28, 2019

By Kevin Glew

Canadian Baseball Network

Canadian Joey Votto (Etobicoke, Ont.) has been named one of the 10 best players of the decade by MLB.com.

The Cincinnati Reds first baseman and Etobicoke Rangers alum is ranked fifth on the list compiled by Will Leitch that was published on Wednesday. The only players ahead of Votto are Mike Trout, Clayton Kershaw, Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer.

“Votto, better than anyone this whole decade, did the one thing that makes you most valuable to your team as a hitter: He did not make outs,” writes Leitch. “His .428 OBP for the decade is far and away the best in baseball. That decade-long figure is better than Ken Griffey Jr. had in any single season.”

Selected in the second round of the 2002 MLB draft by the Reds, Votto made his major league debut in 2007, but his best major league season would come at the beginning of the decade when he posted a .324/.424/.624 slash line and 1.048 OPS.

On top leading the league in on-base percentage (OBP), slugging percentage (SLG) and on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) that season, he also belted 37 home runs, had 106 runs and knocked in 113. For his efforts, he became the second Canadian to win the National League MVP Award.

Over the past decade, Votto has topped the National League in OBP seven times, in walks five times and has been named to six All-Star teams. He also picked up a Gold Glove Award in 2011.

“We should be debating Votto’s Hall of Fame case much more than we are,” concludes Leitch.

The other five players on MLB.com’s list after Votto (in order from 6 to 10) are Adrian Beltre, Miguel Cabrera, Buster Posey, Chris Sale and Jose Altuve.

You can read the full article here.