Former Cincinnati Reds great Joey Votto was asked while making his NBC Sunday Night Baseball debut July 26 whether he ever lobbied to play the outfield, and he mentioned a painful memory.
"I came up as a left fielder," Votto said. "Maybe not came up as a left fielder, but I played some left field when I first got called up to Cincinnati. And I remember vividly a ground ball down the left-field line. Me going to the corner, the ball zipping past me (for) three bases, bases empty. Going back to the dugout and (then catcher) David Ross slamming his helmet on the bench, saying, 'What the heck is going on?' And I just thought, 'Ohh, let me play first base please!' … They got me over (to first base) as quickly as they possibly could."
Earlier in the
broadcast, Bob Costas asked Votto whether his career might be underappreciated by some baseball fans, having played in Cincinnati without winning a World Series.
"Any Philly fan knows the Cincinnati Reds because we were no-hit on this field vs. Roy Halladay in 2010," Votto responded. "So they may know me, but not for the right reasons."
"That was really fun," Votto tweeted after the Yankees-Phillies game, his Sunday Night Baseball debut as NBC analyst.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Joey Votto recalls David Ross berating him as his Reds teammate
