01-16-2020, 01:45 PM
(01-16-2020, 01:29 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: I think MVP candidate Votto is long gone, but I think/hope he'll rebound back to 2018 level where he hit .284/.417/.419. Combine that with an okay glove at 1B and there's value in that. Not the Votto of old, but the old Votto.
Granted, that's also a hope and hope shouldn't factor into the thinking of a team hoping to be a legit contender. He did have an .810 OPS in Aug and a .819 in Sept after he went back to a more traditional batting stance/approach, so there's still a competent hitter in there. I just think you need to build a team where they can compete regardless, and if Votto does happen to go back to being 26% above average offensively like in 2018, that should just be icing on the contending cake.
Don't forget RBI are a factor of the players in front of them as much if not more than the player who gets them. Votto only had 67 RBI in 2018, but he hit .339 with runners in scoring position. You can't get a lot of RBI if there aren't a lot of people on base ahead of you. That's just a fact.
I sure hope you're right !
Myself and probably pretty much everybody would be happy if Votto would come in with 23 HR's and 87 RBI's, decent production, we understand he's not 28 years old anymore.
Where he gets under fans skins (mine included) is when he comes to the plate in the bottom of the 8th down two runs, with runners on 2nd and 3rd and two outs and strikes out on 4 pitches never taking the bat off his shoulder ! Or drawing a walk with 1 swing ! Then the next guy hits it back to the pitcher.