The more I learn about Joey Votto, the more I am impressed. You gotta read this piece about Votto’s time playing for an elite Canadian travel baseball team (tip of the cap to Red Reporter):
Because the pros use wood bats, Votto did too. He was eligible to swing aluminum or composite which would give extra pop but he always refused. Even that day in Long Island at a crucial showcase tournament teeming with scouts.
It wasn’t enough that he was leading the team and the league in every offensive category, one persistent university scout still wanted to see what he could do with metal. Still refusing and maybe feeling he had a little something to prove, Votto stepped in and hit a ball Strongman and Oswald say went further than any home run they’d seen before. Over the 400-foot fence, over a small field and right into the middle of a pond 500-and-something feet from the plate.
“Everyone went dead quiet,†Strongman says, smiling.
Go read the entire piece. I really believe Votto might not be human.