Reds first baseman Joey Votto had himself some fun during Sunday afternoon’s series finale against the Phillies. In the sixth inning, infielder Cesar Hernandez hit a soft liner just to the right of the first base line. Votto snagged the ball and appeared as if he was going to toss the souvenir into the crowd.
Instead, Votto turned around and tossed the ball to the dugout. As he returned to his position, he had what appeared to be a crap-eating grin on his face. Votto turned back to the crowd and pumped his fist.
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Phillies fans are not exactly known for their sense of humor, so Votto’s antics were of great offense to the city of Philadelphia. Votto was pilloried on social media. When he was made aware of the clamor over his actions, Votto bent down with purpose into a microphone and said “too bad,” as you can see in this CSN Philly video. Votto clarified that it was “definitely not the case” that he was intentionally not giving the souvenir to a kid. He said he didn’t want to give the ball to an adult that had been giving him a hard time throughout the game.
Votto joked, saying to a laughing throng of reporters, “I have no problems with any of the Philly fans… except for the Philly fan kids. I can’t stand the kids here.”
Despite the jokes, Votto went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts in the Reds’ 9-4 victory. He finished the series hitless in 13 at-bats with six punch-outs. Votto now owns an uncharacteristic .215/.353/.355 triple-slash line on the year.
