Top 102 Quotes & Sayings by Joey Votto - Page 2

I'm a different hitter than most.

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

Cincinnati is a prettier city than people give it credit for, I like it here, like the people. They're so polite.

I didn't know if it was possible, but I wanted to some day be the highest paid Canadian player.

I don't think materialistic things are my priority.

I used to be a big fan of the NBA until Kevin Durant joined the Golden State Warriors.

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.'

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, personally, have standards that I have set for myself. I'd like to achieve those and look back without regret.

No matter what, I'm being paid to perform.

I think I am boring. That's good. I strive for boring in all elements of my game.

Some say I'm selfish. My approach is the complete opposite of selfishness.

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 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.

Some players just have the natural stroke that you throw them in the lineup and all of the sudden they turn on a ball and hit it out of the ballpark.

My objective with men at 2nd and 3rd is to get one quality pitch to drive them in. If it's not available, I'm going to go to first base. I won't make any apologies about that.

I just want to be in the middle of the order, playing solid defense, playing every day, being competitive and earning that my manager, the coaching staff, the front office, my teammates have faith that I'm going to be a helpful teammate. I want to do that until the very end.

I think it's very difficult to have fewer opportunities to have success and still execute. My favorite player was Barry Bonds, and he got so few opportunities.

Baseball-Reference has been very good to me during my career.

You won't give yourself an opportunity to do good things unless you are out on the field.

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

I'd rather quit and leave all the money on the table than play at a poor level.

I just do my best to put the ball in play and put it in play where no one's going to make a play on it and hopefully drive some runners in.

I feel like I've got a process swing. It takes a long time to get to where it needs to be and to stay there. The advantage - if I'm healthy - more often than not, it tends to stay there.

I love competing against the best and I take a lot of pride in it.

I'm grateful for the things I've faced in my career because they make me better - every single one of them.

Most elite players want to maximize the length of the contract, no matter the money.

I'm a guy that has the skills to hit the ball hard.

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

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

I follow basketball. That was always one of my passions and enjoyed watching it. I appreciate how athletically gifted those guys are. Just never got into hockey.

My goal is to stay on the field, stay healthy and be a part of some wins.

When you are raised in a restaurant you really don't want to go to one that often, I'd rather cook.

I love to play at a really high level.

Personally, until Mike Trout came into the league I thought I would be in the conversation for best player in the game. Then he screwed that up for everybody - Babe Ruth and Ted Williams included. He has ruined it for everyone.

The best hitters can do everything.

The people in Cincinnati have gotten to know me.

It bothered me when Kevin Durant left Oklahoma City.

Baseball in Canada is like soccer in the U.S. It is growing, and some people are starting to gain interest. The way that there are Americans playing high-level soccer, there are Canadians breaking into the Major Leagues.

Baseball was my refuge. When I came on the field, I did my job, and did the best I could and focused on that. Then I went home and I was miserable. That was pretty much my routine every day.?