Romano: Joey Votto has stopped striking out
From Ryan Romano at Beyond the Box Score on September 14, 2016:
Mike Trout is historically great, and we really don’t appreciate him enough – for more evidence of that, check out my colleague Henry Druschel’s analysis from last week. Yet when I ponder the title of the most awe-inspiring player in baseball, I keep coming back to Joey Votto. Maybe it’s because I, like most fans, overvalue offense and undervalue defense, but something about those patented Votto hot streaks captivates me like nothing else can.
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In the second half, no other qualifier has surpassed Votto’s 205 wRC+. This seems to happen, as [Jeff] Sullivan quipped, every year – Votto just turns things up a notch at will, leaving his adversaries helpless.
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Since the Midsummer Classic, Votto has played 54 games – or a third of a season – in which he’s been the best hitter in baseball. And this isn’t even the second-best stretch of his career! Hell, it’s pretty close to a number of periods from 2009, 2010, 2011… even earlier this year! When Votto gets going, no one in the league can stand in his way.
Read the full article here: http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2016/9/14/12865860/joey-votto-reds-strikeouts-second-half-whiff-z-swing
Originally published: September 14, 2016. Last Updated: September 14, 2016.