Quotes from Joey Votto

Initially when I got called up, I thought it would change my life. And it didn't. Then when I won the Most Valuable Player, I thought I'd be a Beatle and I'd be overwhelmed and not be able to leave my hotel room. I don't say that with arrogance, I say it with unknown.

I came out of a Canadian high school where the hardest people were throwing was in the 70-mph range - 70-75 mph, maybe. I found that getting to pro ball was overwhelming.

Seeing certain players join certain teams, basically throwing off the entire power dynamic, more or less removing any chance of any other team sharing in success, I just - no.

I will not be a very satisfied, happy person if I don't perform at the level that I expect.

I love to play at a really high level.

If I go out to dinner in Cincinnati, I know everyone's eyes are on me, or at least the people who recognize me. Eyes are on me, judging me, and I can't relax. I can't be at ease. I don't like that feeling.

I'm a different hitter than most.

The best hitters can do everything.

If I was just a guy who hit 24 home runs and drove in 100, I wouldn't be a special player.

If you give a guy 1,000 opportunities and he hits 30 home runs or 500 opportunities and he hits 30 home runs, it's not the same thing. I know. This is what I do for a living, and I know who is better at what I do.

I was raised in Mimico, a small neighborhood just outside of Toronto, Canada. One of the most culturally diverse cities in the world.

I go back to Toronto each off season and feel renewed every time I cross the border to my home and native land.

One of the advantages of playing in a smaller market is that I can go back to Toronto, or all across the States and never be recognized. I get to go out to dinner, walk my dog, or go to the mall and nobody knows who I am.

I have been very fortunate to see some very clearly excellent players play well to the very ends of their career, where they opted not to play anymore. I'm talking about Adrian Beltre. I'm talking about Torii Hunter. I'm talking about David Ortiz, Chipper Jones, Derek Jeter. These are players who decided, 'You know, I've had enough. That's good.'

Baseball has been very good to me, but baseball has evolved into a hybrid of work and passion.

The challenges of my career have made me better and tougher overall and made me resilient.

I'm a Reds fan. I signed up to be a Reds fan, I want to be a Reds fan.

I will admit when I was 16, 17 years old, the thought of playing for the Jays was at the top. There's something about joining a club and being embraced by a club and then building a relationship and commitment to a team.

I legitimately would like to drive a yellow bus when I'm older so I've actually thought about - I want to be either a crossing guard or drive a yellow bus. Drive the kids to school or let them cross to school so, you know, that's something I'm excited about. I'm serious about that. I think that will be great.

In 2002, the Cincinnati Reds selected me with the 44th pick in the Major League Baseball draft. At 18 years of age, I began my professional career, traveling around America on buses, growing up in clubhouses that were predominantly divided between white Americans and Latinos.

I think if I let the team's performance dictate how I behave or how I perceive my performance, or whether or not there's value, or whether or not anyone even cares, it's a dangerous and slippery slope.

I kind of want to go play in the Caribbean Series to be honest. I'm not even kidding about that.

I know the feeling of being in a city - and a team winning a championship - as a young person, and then seeing the impact in the community, seeing the excitement for days, for weeks, for long stretch of time, and how special it can be.

Hitting is very challenging, you never get it solved.