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Updating the Top 100; Joey Votto, #27

27. Joey Votto

Played as Red Primary Position Career Rank Peak Rank Prime Rank
2007-2011 1B 48 14 20
Percent Breakdown of Value Best Season Best player on Reds
Hit Field Pitch 2010 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
94% 6% 0%
Awards/Honors as a Red Leading the League On the Reds Leaderboard
Most Valuable Player – 2010
Hank Aaron Award – 2010
All Star – 2010, 2011
Gold Glove - 2011
OPS+ – 2010
OPS – 2010
On Base Percentage – 2010, 2011
Slugging Percentage – 2010
Doubles - 2011
Walks - 2011

-1st in career OPS+
-2nd in career slugging percentage
-2nd in career on base percentage
-5th in career batting average
-20th in career home runs

There’s a universe in which there is never any question that Votto will spend his entire career with the Reds, and he goes on to be a top-5 player in franchise history, and they name streets after him. We’re probably not in that universe, of course, having the misfortune of always picking the wrong damn universe to live in.

Nonetheless, Votto’s elite. He picked up some new hardware this year (the Reds have the Gold-Gloviest right side of the infield in all the land), and barely skipped a beat in his MVP remix season. He actually profiles rather well with Jeff Bagwell, who also had an MVP award and a Gold Glove and a career OPS+ in the 150 neighborhood through his age 27 season. Bagwell’s decline from there was long and slow, and accompanied by several trips to October. Would that the two indeed profile that close to one another.

Through 4+ seasons, Votto owns a batting line of 313/405/550 (151 OPS+), and jumps from #64 on the all-time list to #27. He also rises six spots on the list of best first basemen in team history, to #4.

The Top 15 First Basemen in Reds history

1 Tony Perez
2 Ted Kluszewski
3 Frank McCormick
4 Joey Votto*
5 Dan Driessen
6 Jake Beckley
7 Sean Casey
8 Lee May
9 Jake Daubert
10 Dick Hoblitzel
11 Hal Morris
12 Rube Bressler
13 Gordy Coleman
14 Deron Johnson
15 Hal Chase

*active