Near the beginning of this year’s baseball season, Joey Votto, Canadian-born, long-time first baseman for the Cincinnati Reds, made an unusual prediction on MLB’s official webpage. He wrote that on April 15, 14 games into the 2023 baseball season, extra terrestrials would arrive on Earth. He said it would take five months for us to learn to communicate and befriend them. He went on to say that play would resume in October and that the Reds would sweep the playoffs to become World Series Champs.
When I text a friend of mine who was struggling with the torture of knee replacement surgery in Cincinnati this fanciful tale she replied, “Well, looking forward to friendly extra terrestrials will give me something to live for. Actually, the Red’s winning the World Series seems more far fetched!”
The Reds haven’t been good for a very long time! The last time they ended the season with a winning record was 2013. But you know, maybe Votto knew something that the rest of us didn’t know. His dates were a little off, but for the first time in a very long time, the Red’s seem to be playing with skill, joy, and determination — even 39-year-old Joey Votto. As of this writing, the Red’s are in first place in the NL Central Division.
And what was the spark that lit the fire under the 2023 Cincinnati Reds? On June 6th of this year, the team brought up Dominican-born Elly De La Cruz from the minor leagues. Since joining the team, De La Cruz has excelled in almost every aspect of the game. The 6’5”, switch-hitting infielder is currently hitting an impressive .333. He’s stolen seven bases and last week he hit for the cycle-that’s a single, double, triple and home run in the same game. At just 21, he is the youngest rookie to do that since 1975.
At the end of Votto’s post he wrote, “SIDE NOTE: The aliens ask if I would like to accompany them on their ship back to their planet. I oblige. Never to be seen again.” Professional athletes don’t play for a lifetime. At 39, maybe Joey Votto is looking to retire from the game he’s played so well for so long. Let’s hope Elly De La Cruz has as long and successful career as Votto. That would go a long way toward numbing the pain of my friend’s new bionic knee.