Reds first baseman Joey Votto hasn’t had the best year from a P.R. perspective. He’s gotten angry at fans for interfering with a foul ball catch attempt, trolled Phillies fans, and stomped on a paper airplane. It seemed more to be Votto’s quirky sense of humor rather than actual malice, but it hasn’t really earned him any new fans.
Perhaps having learned his lesson, Votto was nothing but nice after catching a Wilmer Flores pop-up in foul territory down the first base line in the top of the first inning of Tuesday’s game against the Mets. After catching the ball to end the inning, Votto promptly lobbed it to a fan who had lobbied for the souvenir. He then went to an adjacent fan and gave him a high-five, flashing his winning smile on his way back to the dugout.
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As for actual baseball stuff, Votto came into the evening hitting an outstanding .312/.435/.524 with 22 home runs, 79 RBI, 85 runs scored, and a league-leading total of 99 walks in 563 plate appearances.