Votto pens heartfelt apology
Ex-MVP says he’s ‘ashamed’ for 2018 comments on Canadian baseball
Canadian icon Joey Votto posted a heartfelt, handwritten apology on Monday night for comments he made almost six years ago dismissing Canadian baseball, the Blue Jays and the city of Toronto.
While the 2010 National League MVP has previously said sorry for remarks made on a 2018 podcast, it appears the 40-year-old from Mimico was moved to write another apology after seeing his photo on the front page of the Toronto Star in Monday. Votto, who signed a minor-league contract with the Blue Jays in a comeback bid after spending 17 years with the Cincinnati Reds, hit a home run on the very pitch he saw in his first spring training game in Florida with his hometown team.
He was asked on that podcast in 2018 what he thought of James Paxton, who became the first Canadian to throw a no-hitter in Toronto against the Blue Jays.
“As far as Toronto, and Canadian baseball, and the country of Canada, and (James Paxton) being Canadian, I don’t care at all,” Votto said back then. “(Paxton), or the Jays, or Canada, in general, may disagree with that, but I really couldn’t give a rat’s ass about that.”
He later told Sportsnet in an interview why he lashed out.
“I explained that I was jealous of another Canadian athlete receiving praise and adulation in my home city and country. I explained that I felt admiration and support in the U.S., and yet, in my home city and country, my ego told me I deserved more,” Votto wrote Monday.
The initial comments caused a furor and Votto apologized on Sportsnet days later as well as in a June 2019 interview with the Star. (Votto is a two-time winner of the Lou Marsh Award, now the Northern Star Award, as Canada’s top athlete. The award is administered by the Toronto Star.)
“I cringe and am ashamed as I re-write my words ... I received, and still receive occasional criticism for my comments, but it was my mother’s disappointment that hurt me the most,” Votto wrote in the social media post Monday.
Votto wrote that his mother “admonished” him in a letter she wrote.
“The respect and gratitude I should have for growing up and living in one of the safest, best educated, healthiest and most peaceful countries in the world,” Votto wrote. “She let me know, this is now how you were raised and that I should check my ego and perspective.”
He admitted he was dismissive at first of his mother’s words, but then realized he was wrong.
“I wrote her a letter back apologizing. In the letter I acknowledged my errors and told her I would be better, different. I would learn and grow. Writing this letter hurt but it was needed. That part of me needed to be acknowledged and corrected. I wrote that I was sorry and asked for her forgiveness.
“Today I was sent a picture of me in a Jays uniform on the cover of our city paper. It’s interesting to me to hear my internal dialogue, now from then as I look at the image. Truthfully, I may or may not play for my countries (sic) team this year. Either way, I just want those interested to know, a meaningful lesson has been learned.
“Like my mother has, I hope you can forgive me.”
Snell to Giants
Two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell and the San Francisco Giants agreed to a two-year, $62million contract on Monday night with the right to opt out after the first season. Snell joins a Giants team that signed outfielders Jung Hoo Lee (six years, $113 million) and Jorge Soler (three years, $42 million), right-hander Jordan Hicks (four years, $44 million) and third baseman Matt Chapman (three years, $54 million). San Diego will receive an extra draft pick after the fourth round as compensation after making Snell a $20,325,000 qualifying offer that he turned down.
Ohtani in the field?
Shohei Ohtani may be more than a designated hitter this season. Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Monday that Ohtani — ruled out as a pitcher this year after a second operation on his right elbow — will soon start a throwing program that might allow him to play in the field.