Former Cincinnati Reds great Joey Votto and former Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon spoke with MLB Network's Brian Kenny during "MLB Now" about what a manager does to try to get into the head of a star on the opposing team.
Kenny showed video of an instance in 2017 in which Maddon played four outfielders during a Votto at-bat at Wrigley Field, and Votto doubled down the first-base line.
"How much of your planning revolved around (Votto) when you were facing the Reds?" Kenny asked Maddon.
"Look at his numbers from 2017 and they're pretty disgusting," Maddon said. "They were unbelievable. So for me, you want to put a different thought in his head coming up to the plate. I wanted him to see a different field. And furthermore, if you look at it, I don't
even know how many times he hit a ball down the first-base line. It had to be minimally. And we just give him - if he wants to hit a ground ball to third base, go ahead."
"So we tried to cover the parts of the field that I thought would help us the most probably get him out," Maddon continued. "But I wanted him to go up to the plate and see something he had not seen before. Maybe advantage us? I think the first two at-bats you got out, on some weak ground balls. Part of it is, information, absolutely. But part of it is literally trying to get into the hitter's head."
Said Votto, "And I think the rest of the league will take notice also when you throw four outfielders against the best hitter on that particular team. You'll try anything. You'll shoot from the hip. So for me, when I saw that, I was confused. It threw me off. And frankly, a swing like that is not a good swing."
Kenny asked Votto if he was aware of what Maddon was up to in the Cubs' dugout.
"You rarely pay attention to the manager when you're on the field, just because it doesn't affect the play," Votto said. "But when he inserts himself, Joe actually would've gone out of his way to pause the game at times by arguing with the umpire intentionally. You'd try to throw off a rhythm, whether it was the opposing pitcher, or the offensive rhythm. In the four-outfielder situation ‒ maybe in some other way he would insert himself. Joe was always that manager trying to be a part of the game. And it would sometimes work."
Maddon said, "That's one way to look at it. I never looked at it as being insertive. I was just going based off information and having done it for so many years in the minor leagues. A lot of that stuff starts in the minor leagues."
Kenny joked to Maddon, about Votto: "He's not your friend."
Maddon said he loves Votto's honesty.
"Are you kidding me? I love when Joey Votto opens his mouth," he said.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 'I love when Joey Votto opens his mouth' - Ex-Cubs manager Joe Maddon
