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Even in slump, Votto commanding respect
- Updated: June 2, 2016
DENVER — The .215 average flashed on the Coors Field scoreboard as Reds first baseman Joey Votto walked to the plate in the ninth inning of an eventual 7-2 victory over the Rockies on Wednesday night.
Rockies manager Walt Weiss, however, didn’t buy it.
Not one bit.
And so, after Billy Hamilton stole second base on the second pitch to Votto and Jason Motte then went to a 3-0 count, Weiss signaled for an intentional walk.
“I was seriously considering not pitching to him at all,” said Weiss.
Votto may be off to the worst start of his near-decade in the big leagues, but he is only 32. He finished third in the National League Most Valuable Player Award voting a year ago on a team that finished in last place in the NL Central, 34 games below .500.
And other than an injury-interrupted 2014, during which he was limited to 62 games and a .255 average, the only time he’s hit below .300 in his career was in 2008, when he was runner-up in voting for the NL Rookie of the Year with a .297 mark.
So instead of breathing a sigh of relief that the four-time All-Star, who was the NL MVP in 2010, is coming to town in a funk, the Rockies felt that Votto was going to be a major challenge.
“He gets your full attention, especially coming in here,” Weiss said of Coors Field. “You see [Votto struggling] and it’s a red flag. This is a place guys can get comfortable, and with Votto you’ve got a great hitter. You’ve got a guy you know is going to have a good year.”
There are signs of an awakening. Votto was 1-for-3 with two walks, including the ninth, and his first-inning groundout brought home …
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