The oral history of the Joey Votto infield popup double that didn’t count

GOODYEAR, Arizona – Jared Hughes’ top baseball memory was in 2013 when National League Most Valuable Player Andrew McCutchen was introduced before the first playoff game in PNC Park history.

The Pirates ended a 20-year playoff drought and the sell-out crowd, mostly dressed in black, showered their hero with applause. Hughes, now a Red, was a Pirate that night. That memory will forever live with him.

Hughes’ second-best baseball memory may have come last week at Field 2 of the Cleveland Indians Spring Training Complex here in Arizona, with just a few family members, team officials, scouts and random fans watching a B Game between the Reds and Indians.

It was there that Hughes was getting in work along with some other big-league pitchers like Amir Garrett and Lucas Sims.

Hughes sat with several other relievers in a makeshift bullpen of plastic chairs pulled under the shade of a small tree awaiting their turn. They watched the game made up mostly of Double-A players, as well as Joey Votto and Nick Senzel from Reds’ big-league camp and Cleveland’s star shortstop Francisco Lindor, who is recovering from a calf injury.

Votto, in the second of his scheduled seven plate appearances, did something Hughes will remember forever – he popped up to third base. That’s pretty unusual, but it’s not what Hughes will remember, it’s Votto’s reaction. The 2010 National League Most Valuable Player, six-time All-Star and owner of a $225-million contract, saw that the popup looked like it would stay fair. He then started running, not just to first base, but rounding it and cruising into second when the ball was lost in the sun and dropped to the ground.

“I’ve been in great games, I’ve pitched in the playoffs, I’ve been a part of teams that have turned around losing seasons,” Hughes said. “Seeing someone represent the game like that is so special, I’d put it up there as a top-two or -three moment in my career. And it’s on a backfield with free entrance.”

The Athletic was there:

Here’s something you don’t see too much — Joey Votto popup to the infield. 3B lost it in the sun.
— C. Trent Rosecrans (@ctrent) March 14, 2019

We talked to nearly 30 people who were there that day and this is an oral history of the Joey Votto infield popup double that didn’t count.

The game

The Reds had two games scheduled on Tuesday, March 12, one in Goodyear against the Padres and another across the valley in Mesa against the Cubs. In Mesa, the Reds battered the Cubs, 12-3, but in Goodyear, a few pitches were thrown before the game was called due to rain.

Spring training is scripted as far as how often and how much pitchers will pitch. Several pitchers needed to get innings in games because of the rain-out, but instead of pushing everyone back, the Reds put together a game with the Indians. The B Game was held at Cleveland’s complex, a short walk down South Wood Boulevard. Some players walk to it, others catch rides on golf carts.

There is no charge to watch a B game or a minor-league game in spring training. That’s important because it allows teams to play with the rules – cutting innings short if a pitcher has thrown his allotment of pitches or even adding a fourth out if a pitcher needs to throw more pitches. And then there are the batters. The Reds elected to have Votto lead off every inning in the game, followed by Senzel. The Indians’ Lindor batted second in each of the first four innings.

It’s a chance for the minor-league players to see All-Stars like Votto and Lindor up close. It’s a chance to get multiple at-bats For those All-Stars.

Joey Votto: “I got eight (plate appearances) that day. You can go a week and get eight at-bats. I’m getting three at-bats a game that I’ve been playing two-thirds of games, but now we’re playing a little more. Last week it was more like every other day. I just got eight at-bats in one sitting. That’s a big advantage and gives me a chance to work on some things that I feel like I need to work on.”

Bruce Yari, Reds minor league first baseman and Canadian: “We got to the park and we didn’t know he’d be playing in that game. We knew Nick was going to be there, but we didn’t know Joey was going to be in the game, so you get there and you’re watching how he prepares for the game and see what he does. I think it’s a testament to how much effort and attention he puts into the details of the game that he seems to be a very cerebral baseball player and he’s always thinking.”

Nick Senzel, Reds top prospect: “It’s a minor-league game, a B game, no fans, it’s on a backfield. I think those are the games that are harder to lock in than in a night game against the Dodgers on Friday night. It’s harder to lock in for games on a backfield that don’t mean anything. I know spring training doesn’t mean a whole lot stat-wise, but the fact that it’s the backfield, it’s different.”

Carlos Baerga, Indians special instructor: “I asked (Cam) Bonifay why he’s here and he said, ‘Because he was pulling too many balls in the game and he came to work.’ That’s another thing I told the younger players, ‘Watch when you have the opportunity to go to a big-league game, watch the guys.’ When I first came up to the big leagues, Candy Maldonado told me, ‘When you finish batting practice, I want you to go inside, change your shirt, change your pants, get something to drink and go outside and watch the best two players from the other team.’ If we’re playing against Baltimore, it’s Cal Ripken and Eddie Murray. When we play against Milwaukee, I watched Paul Molitor and Robin Yount. Kansas City – George Brett and Frank White. He named the names. He told me to learn from the best, how they prepare, how they play the game, the respect they have for the game, you’ll see it. George Brett ran hard every day to first base. When you see Cal Ripken, he always did the same thing, even throwing from shortstop between innings. When you prepare yourself and when you hustle, everything thing is going to go your way.”

Morgan Lofstrom, Reds minor league catcher and Canadian: “Since I was younger, in high school and stuff, he’s always been that guy that you look up to. When I was younger, I went the World Baseball Classic in 2009 and saw him hit that home run (against the United States). For me, now to be playing on the same field as him, that’s pretty cool. When I go home, everyone asks me, ‘How’s Votto?’ ‘What does he do to be better than everyone?’ His work ethic is just so much better than everyone else’s. I see him in the cage one-on-one with a coach getting mad at himself when he expects better. It’s him and Larry Walker that everyone knows.”

Tyler Stephenson, Reds minor-league catcher: “I was fortunate enough to be on that side this year. There was one time I was in the cage before a game doing some stuff and (Jesse) Winker and Votto were in the cage next to me. They went out and hit on the machine on the field and Joey asked if I wanted to come hit with them. I was like, ‘Yeah.’ I’m not going to say no to him. He’s been great, it’s been great to be around him. I didn’t get a chance to really talk to him. It’s pretty cool to be sitting in the same room as someone as great as him. I listened to everything he said, some of the stuff he was saying to Winker, he made it all seem as easy as possible. Realistically, it’s not that easy.”

Mitch Longo, Indians minor league outfielder: “You’re always locked in on the game, but when you have guys like that who have had so much success, you try to pick up as much as you can from their game. Lindor is such a magnetic guy, you can’t help but watch everything he does and how he carries himself and what makes him who he is.”

Sherman Johnson, Reds minor league infielder/outfielder: “Why wouldn’t you (watch their every move)? They’re at the top of the game, they’re up there for a reason. He’s been an All-Star for so long, it’d be detrimental to not watch what he does, honestly.”

The play

Votto struck out in his first at-bat against Adam Plutko, a 27-year-old right-hander who is battling for a spot in the Indians rotation. Plutko also happens to be Hughes’ off-season throwing partner.

In the second inning, Votto hit a pop up to the left side of the infield.

Tyler Krieger, Indians minor-league third baseman: “The ball went up, I lost it in the sun and Votto had a double.”

Adam Plutko, Indians right-hander: “I was looking at the fly ball. It was a pretty windy day and I saw the third baseman look like he’s having some trouble with it. Then I kind of looked back to see where he was and I was hoping he was at first and he was pretty much standing on second base and the ball dropped. I was like, ‘well, that turned into a double.’ I was checking to see where he was before first and second and my third baseman thought he was camped underneath it. (Votto) was moving out of the box for sure.

“(After the ball dropped) you hear the ‘two, two, two’ call and I look and I’m like, ‘oh man, he’s moving.’”

Trayce Thompson, Indians outfielder: “It was windy, sunny. I could see the third baseman was a little off, and then I checked to see where Votto was and I saw him pull into second. I was like, ‘He’s taking this seriously.’ It’s a good way to play because not many guys can turn it on and off and when he’s playing to turn it on like that is pretty impressive.”

Logan Ice, Indians minor league catcher: “It’s was cool to see whether it was out of spite of actually hitting a popup like that and being pissed off or whatever it was. It was kind of interesting. Of course, he also Cadillac-ed it some on some doubles, so there is some give-and-take on it. He can do what he pleases.”

Votto: “No frustration. I hit a pop-up and you’ve got to run.”

The stat

According to FanGraphs, Votto has a total of 16 infield popups in his career – just nine since the start of the 2010 season and one in the last three seasons combined.

Matt Bowman, Reds reliever: “I commented on the pop-up. I thought I saw one of the rarest events in baseball.”

Hughes: “It was Bowman who said, ‘well, that’s rare.’ Then we were like, ‘wait, he’s booking it.’ And he was on second, which is what not what we were expecting. I think that’s every bit as rare, watching a guy who is fully established in the major leagues, a multiple-time All-Star, trying to get an extra base in a B game.”

Ice: “There’s that crazy stat where he’s hit no infield popups in the history of ever.”

Krieger: “I know he never hits one – I guess it was rare to see it. It’s spring training, so he’s probably working on something to improve his game, so you never really know in spring training what those guys could be doing. He could be trying to see it deep or something like that and we have no idea about that.”

Mark Edwards, Reds coordinator of baseball operations: “That was my first thought as well, I was really surprised to see that happen because I don’t know that I’ve ever seen that happen. I think it was the first time I’ve ever seen him pop up on the infield.”

Cam Bonifay, special assistant to the GM, player personnel: “He’s in that mode of getting where he wants to be for the regular season, so it’s a hell of a lot more likely you’re going to see it down here than in the regular season. He’s taking his art form into levels we don’t talk about because that’s where he is – whether it’s a day he’s not going to swing at all or it’s a day that he’s only going to swing at a breaking ball, him getting prepared for the season is totally unique. You just trust because of the history and the back of the baseball card, because that’s who he is.”

Yari: “That was my first thought as well, there’s the stat out there that he never does it. Initially, off the bat, I thought it was weird because I was aware of the stat, I don’t know the exact numbers. Then we’re watching the ball and watching where the infielders go, and as it drops, we’re looking to see where he is and he’s cruising into second so you knew he was busting to get there because you’re not making it to second base without putting that kind of effort in.”

Plutko: “I’m fired up about that. … Too bad it wasn’t in a regular-season game, instead of just some back-field game. There is video evidence of it, so that’s good. Let’s see if it happens in a regular-season game, but I’ll take credit. I’m pretty stoked on it.”

The hustle

The video shows Votto looking at the ball and seeing that is going to stay fair before he starts sprinting.

Votto: “I feel like one of the things that I think I was raised in this organization in particular, and I’m not sure if it’s a byproduct of Pete (Rose) or other examples at the major-league level, but hustle was a real priority. I have my moments, we all have our moments, but I was raised in an environment where it was uncomfortable ‘dogging it.’ I’m not saying that was entirely minor-league raising, but I remember that being a big priority. I’m not going to represent baseball’s hustle just because… I’m not perfect and I have my moments, but I’d like to think for the most part I can play the game hard because that’s the way I was raised inside this organization. I do think that Cincinnati Reds baseball has a certain style to it and I think hustle is synonymous with Cincinnati Reds baseball.”

Joel Noboa, Reds Latin-American fielding coordinator, first-base coach for that game: “I’m going to be honest, I don’t say ‘run hard, run hard’ or ‘keep going, keep going’ – usually the first base coach always says that to the runner. As soon as I saw him coming out of the box, I knew he was doing the right thing. Usually, that’s Joey. He’s usually like that.”

Lofstrom: “I thought he was just going to trot to first base and accept that he got out and just stand there. But then the fact that he was standing on second base basically waiting for the ball to drop – it’s surreal to see him do that. I watched him out of the box and then I saw he was running hard and then I watched the ball. When I saw it drop, I looked up and, wow, he’s standing on second base, he didn’t bust out of the box and stay at first, he kept going to second.”

Bill Doran, special assistant, player development: “I was watching, when he took off, I wasn’t surprised. I was glad he did, but honestly, I wasn’t surprised.”

Bonifay: “I would’ve been shocked if he hadn’t done it because that’s the way he plays the game. That’s how he views the game should be played. I would have been shocked.”

Bowman: “It’s not some accident that some people win MVPs and it’s not an accident that someone puts up the numbers he does every year. Certain things make people tick, whether he’s creating a culture that’s better or he was frustrated at himself, therefore he was going to make sure he got second, it’s unsurprising. He has quirks and a lot of those quirks feed into a neat narrative about how hard he works. As he does, it’s interesting. At this point, no level of effort, no level of attention to detail would really surprise you about someone like that.”

Senzel: “It’s just what he does, that’s why I didn’t think twice about it. It’s the way he is, the guy he is. All you have to do is spend a day with him in the cage. The way he works is second-to-none. The way he prepares and goes about his business, how professional he is, it’s top-tier. He’s the best I’ve ever seen when it comes to work and preparation. So I didn’t think anything about it, it was just Joe.”

Ian Krol, Reds reliever: “Nobody would have said anything (if he hadn’t run). At the same time, now that he did do that, it makes your eyes open up even more. I think the next guy got a hit. In a meaningful ballgame, every run matters. How many times do you see a club lose by one run? Especially in the big leagues. Every game is close. I can see a lot of people doing it in the big leagues, but I can’t see a lot of people doing it in a B game. It’s pretty outstanding. It’s very outstanding to see. Good for Joey.”

The lesson

Brantley Bell, Reds minor league infielder: “I didn’t really think anything of it until about an inning later when I popped up myself and I’m running down to first base myself and I think, ‘Joey got to second.’ Mine wasn’t high enough, so I couldn’t go to second base, but I thought that if he’s doing that, I should be running hard. This guy is getting paid millions of dollars and he’s still doing it that at 35. That’s where I ultimately want to be, playing in his position when I’m 35. He’s a role model to all of us.”

David Bell, Reds manager: “In some ways, you don’t want to make a big deal out of it because that’s what you’re supposed to do. But in a game like that, it wouldn’t have gone noticed if he didn’t, but instead, he does this and there are kids over there on both teams watching him.

“It’s a great example. The other reason I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it is because he does it all the time. That’s who he is. I don’t need to bring a lot of attention to it, but it is worth complimenting because that’s just nice. There are only a few people who can set that strong of an example when everyone’s going to be watching. He took advantage of it. He wasn’t doing it to set an example, he was just doing it, but he did by doing that.”

Hernan Iribarren, Reds minor league infielder: “I talked to the kids, we had a bunch of kids in the dugout and I said, ‘did you see that? Did you see what he did? That guy makes a lot of money and he doesn’t need to do that.’ But that’s him. He’s teaching you a lesson that it doesn’t matter how much money you have or how big you are in the game, you need to do that. For me, that was just awesome. I walked up to him and told him and said, ‘Man, that’s awesome.’ He’s teaching those kids how to play baseball.”

Stephenson: “I loved it. Billy Doran, he came up to him and I happened to walk by, and he said, ‘great example.’ You see one of the game’s best players and he’s hustling in a B game where there are not many people and he runs out a pop fly and the next thing you know, he’s on second base. That’s a great example for all of us.”

Lofstrom: “Oh yeah, everyone’s paying attention to how he goes about his business and what he’s doing. If he’s doing it there it doesn’t give me an excuse to ever not run something out.”

Krol: “First of all, that’s Joey. He plays the game hard, he has very good integrity for the game. Another thing would be that every at-bat counts. it doesn’t matter where you’re playing if it’s on a backfield or a major league game. Honestly, I think that’s how everybody should play the game, every at-bat counts, every swing counts. Every play counts. You never know what can happen. It’s baseball. There are too many variables that go into it – a guy loses it in the sun, the next guy gets a hit and you score. That’s a run. It’s awesome. It sets an example for the younger kids. it sets an example for everybody.”

Hughes: “I’ve seen it, I’ve heard stories about it, top players going to the backfields to get work in and get a bunch of at-bats and they don’t run it out. I don’t blame them because you’re trying to avoid injury and see the ball or whatever. At the same time, if Joey can hustle, shouldn’t everybody be able to hustle? If anyone has the right, in my book, not to run it out, it might be him. Maybe no one has the right to not run it out.”

Miles Gordon, Reds minor league outfielder and Canadian: “It goes to show what kind of baseball player he is and why he’s successful. I think, being a minor-league guy, you want to try to mimic a lot of the things he does and follow him because it works.”

Iribarren: “He’s teaching you a lesson that it doesn’t matter how much money you have or how big you are in the game, you need to do that. For me, that was just awesome. I walked up to him and told him and said, ‘Man, that’s awesome.’ He’s teaching those kids how to play baseball.”

Kevin Plawecki, Indians catcher: “For a guy who has 10, 10-plus years in the big leagues, he could have easily walked to first base. I think, at the same time, and from what I’ve heard about him, he’s a lead-by-example kind of guy and from what I’ve seen over the years by getting to know him with a little chit-chat at home plate, he seems like he’ll take any lesson to teach not only his teammates on a backfield like that, he’s got minor-league guys and they see him play the game like that, it’s easy for guys to have coaches tell them to run every ball out, but when you see a guy like Votto do that in a game that literally means nothing, it took me by surprise and opened my eyes as well. It’s a testament to the kind of player he is.”

Baerga: “I was coaching them, I said, ‘that’s the way we run the bases. That’s the way you have to do it. You never know what’s going to happen.’”

Votto: “If you were to ask me, stepping away like we are right now, I’m kind of aware of that, but I absolutely did not do that for anybody but myself and what was the right play at that time. It’s a good time in spring training to make sure you’re prepared for regular-season games through your conditioning. To me, it was nothing. That it got play was kind of surprising. You caught it – you’re the one who caught it (on video) – so I know a lot of people were excited about it. Really, I remember times in the minor leagues popping up or flying out and being benched for not giving effort. So, I think that’s a kudos to the organization and how I was raised.”

The postscript

Votto was scheduled to take seven at-bats in the game. He struck out in his first, popped up in the second, flew out to left before hitting a curveball to right in his fourth at-bat. He walked, then singled to center and doubled off the wall in center in his seventh at-bat.

That wasn’t good enough for Votto.

Leon “Bull” Durham, Reds Triple-A hitting coach: “I told him, ‘you’ve got four quality at-bats and looked good, shut it down now.’ He said, ‘No, Bull, I can’t stop until I hit a homer. I’ve got to hit a homer.’ I said, ‘Are you sure? Because you’re working good.’ He said, ‘No, I’m going to hit one more time.’”

Doran: “I asked him if he wanted a runner. We had some guys ready to run for him, we didn’t want to have him run the bases all day and he turned around and looked at me and said, ‘No, I’m just going to hit a home run and shut it down for the day.’ And he did.”

Joey Votto dinger
— C. Trent Rosecrans (@ctrent) March 14, 2019

“He was laughing. He just said it tongue-in-cheek, in other words, ‘my day’s over.’”

Yari: “We were laughing because he said, ‘I want to hit a home run.’ Leon said, ‘Just focus on having a good at-bat.’ He said, ‘No, I need to hit something really hard here. I’m going to hit a home run.’ It wasn’t like ‘I want to,’ it was ‘I’m going to hit a home run.’ Then, sure enough, that at-bat, first pitch. Everyone on the bench is in shock, not because he’s not capable of doing it, but because he was so sure he was going to do it.

“The first thing I did after that game was I texted my closest friends that I played with in school and told them I played on the same field as him today. We see him in the cages and in the gym and on the turf, but that’s the first time I’ve played on the same field.”

Brantley Bell: “I think he took seven or eight at-bats that day and he was sitting on the bench with Leon Durham and he’s like, ‘hey, I want to hit a home run for my last at-bat.’ Bull’s like, ‘Just hit something hard.’ And Joey goes, ‘No, I’m going to hit a homer.’ First pitch he hits it like 450 feet to right field. It just shows you how good he is.

“We’re in the presence of baseball legend right there.”

(Top image: Joe Camporeale/USA TODAY Sports)