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Hall of Fame baseball writer Hal McCoy has retired from the Dayton Daily News after covering the Cincinnati Reds for 37 years. Hal's blog, though, will continue to be a must-read for Reds fans. He'll share his thoughts on the team this season and will file updates from Great American Ball Park. You also can catch Hal in print every Sunday in his popular Ask Hal columnHome > Blogs > The Real McCoy | Cincinnati Reds baseball news > Archives > 2009 > September > 22
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Votto: .300 is just a pretty number
You want somebody to put everything in its proper place, like a cleaning lady replacing knick-knacks after a quick dusting? You want somebody to put things in perfect perspective, like a guy who has wrecked his new BMW but walks away without so much as a tear in his new jeans?
Then Joey Votto is your man.
If Votto can keep his batting average above .300, believe it or not, he’ll be the Reds’ first .300 hitter since Sean Casey hit .312 in 2005 and Ken Griffey Jr. hit .301 in 2005.
With nothing much else to play for in this Lost Season, you’d think .300 would be something constantly on Votto’s mind. It isn’t. In baseball, .300 can be a selfish statistic and Votto is not a selfish baseball player.
While Votto admits a number above .300 on your resume is nifty, it isn’t what he is all about.
“There is a pride thing that goes along with hitting .300,” he said. “But I really did my best this year to try not to pay attention to my average because it fluctuates so much that it is pointless.
“I take a lot of pride in driving in runs,” he added. “And I want to get on base as much as possible and score a lot, do what I can to help create runs, which helps the team win.”
Votto, a philosophical guy who can break the game down to its important components, did an excellent dissection after Tuesday’s game.
“Most players realize (that .300) is one of those pretty stats that a lot of guys take a ton of pride in because ever since baseball started, it has always been a benchmark,” he said. “So I’m no different than anybody else, but I do realize it’s definitely not the most important stat.”
But .308? Yeah that’s a pretty-looking number.
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TweetBaker puts Taveras in Wally Pipp class
For those holding their breath worrying about when Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker will stick Willy Taveras back in the lineup, well exhale and breathe heartily.
Taveras has been activated off the disabled list, but when Baker was asked when Taveras would play, he answered testily.
“Well, I mean, I don’t know. I’ll work it, not to be a smart-ass, but I’ll work it like I feel like it,” he said. “You know what I’m saying? Drew Stubbs has been playing good. We’ll see how Willy is feeling and I’ve asked him and he says he is still feeling something (in his quadriceps).
“We’re doing fine with who we’ve got out there,” Baker added.
IF HE TRULY subscribes to that, good for him. Taveras was a bust on top of a failure on top of a big disappointment all year. Since he went down and Stubbs arrived, Stubbs leads the team in home runs (8), total bases (65), steals (7) and runs scored (20). That’s more production in 32 games than Taveras produced in three-fourths of a season.
ONE SUSPECTS that Taveras somehow fell out of favor during his stay on the disabled list, perhaps didn’t work hard enough to suit Baker.
“He’s been out quite a while,” Baker said. And the most telling thing Baker said?
“Sometimes Wally Pipp is still alive,” he said. Pipp was a first baseman for the New York Yankees and took a day off. He was replaced by Lou Gehrig, who then played 2,130 straight games and Pipp was never heard from again as a Yankee.
Now when a player sits out some games and loses his position to another player, it is said, “He was Wally Pipped.”
THEN THERE is Ramon Hernandez. He came off the DL Sunday and there he was in the lineup Tuesday.
“He’s worked hard to get to this point and I like to reward guys who work hard to get back in there to play,” said Baker.
Just reading between the lines here, one suspects Taveras did not work hard enough to get back, not the way Hernandez did after having knee surgery July 21.
Also sounds as if Baker wouldn’t mind if Taveras was not back with the team next season. He didn’t say that, but when a manager brings up Wally Pipp, that’s Serious Business.
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