Inside the Cincinnati Reds clubhouse when Joey Votto’s former team found out he retired

By the time Joey Votto posted his retirement announcement to Instagram on Wednesday night, the Cincinnati Reds were just minutes away from first pitch of their series finale against the Blue Jays.
With a game to focus on, almost everyone on the Reds was blissfully unaware that their former teammate had decided to hang up his cleats. It was only during the post-game celebration following an 11-7 victory that word began to trickle throughout the clubhouse.
The reaction was a mix of shock and sadness followed by smiles and laughter as the players shared their favourite stories of the all-time great. Any disappointment they might have been feeling about Votto not getting called up to play in the series was soon replaced with hugs and fist bumps as the lifelong Red made a surprise visit to their clubhouse after the game.
“I’m a little taken aback by it right now,” Reds catcher Luke Maile said after a small group of reporters informed him about Votto’s retirement. “I will say this, growing up a Reds fan and standing on the line next to him on opening day 2023, one of the coolest moments of my career. I just feel so fortunate that I was able to call him my teammate, plain and simple.”
Maile was born in nearby Edgewood, Ky. The former Jay grew up idolizing Votto and estimated that he watched every single one of Votto’s at-bats while he was in high school. In 2017, the two were on the same field as the future Canadian baseball Hall of Famer made one of many triumphant returns to Toronto.
The result wasn’t great for the Jays, or Maile, but it was certainly fitting.
“I was behind the plate here as a Blue Jay when he was on a tear that I had never seen anything like in my life and hit a homer to dead centre in his hometown,” Maile said. “So many amazing moments in that guy’s career and one of the true professional hitters in the history of the game.”
Those sentiments were felt elsewhere too. One of his former seatmates, catcher Tyler Stephenson, talked about how honoured he was Votto attended his wedding and the impact the veteran slugger had on his career when the two were rehabbing injuries at the same time.
“He had a hell of a career,” Stephenson said. “It was an honour getting to know him as a friend and as a player. He’s an all-time great. I grew up watching him, I was in high school and here we are, I got to be a teammate with him. He had an unbelievable career.”
Reds manager David Bell considered it a privilege to have served as Votto’s manager for five seasons. He was only informed of the retirement a few seconds before his post-game media availability and it was clear from the outset that the breaking news was still settling in.
“I haven’t had time to process it,” Bell said. “I can’t express how happy I am for the career that Joey had as a player. The impact he had on so many people in the game, I think he’ll look back and be very proud of that. Just an incredible career.”
Votto didn’t get an on-field celebration with the Jays this week, but it won’t be long before he gets one in Cincinnati. He ranks second all-time in Reds franchise history in home runs, doubles and on-base plus slugging percentage. He also ranks first in walks and fourth in hits. Soon enough, he’ll become the 11th Reds player to have his number retired. 
So while there was a bit of sadness in the clubhouse on Tuesday night, there was also a healthy amount of appreciation for the generational hitter who was set to retire as a lifelong Red. Votto’s playing days are over, but inside the Reds organization his legacy will never be forgotten.