Joey Votto is nervous.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s kind of a new feeling for him professionally. For most of his 17-year career, spanning 2,056 games and 8,746 plate appearances, Votto knew exactly what to expect, exactly what he needed to do to be successful.<\/p>\n
This time it\u2019s different. The 42-year-old will make his debut on NBC\/Peacock\u2019s Sunday Night Baseball pregame show alongside Bob Costas this weekend and will also provide \u201cInside the Pitch\u201d commentary during the game between the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies. He\u2019ll continue to appear on select regular-season broadcasts and will serve as a pregame analyst with fellow recent retirees Clayton Kershaw and Anthony Rizzo for the network\u2019s wild-card coverage this fall.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe thing I really like to do going into a baseball game is be as prepared as possible, and in such a way that would simplify the game,\u201d Votto said Thursday in a video interview from a dog park in New York City. \u201cAnd I am finding (a challenge) with this, because I\u2019ve never done this before and because my strengths are specific but the game is vast.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even if the other team put a rookie on the mound who had just been called up, at least he had some sort of scouting report and there was a finite number of pitches he could see in his at-bat. From the broadcast booth, there are more unknowns.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe only time I ever found that I was nervous was when I was ill-prepared,\u201d Votto said. \u201cAnd I was almost never ill-prepared.\u201d<\/p>\n
Votto\u2019s insight \u2014 and his ability to express his thoughts on hitting and the game \u2014 made him one of the most sought-after broadcast talents following his retirement from baseball in August 2024 after a frustrating 31-game stint in the Toronto Blue Jays\u2019 minor-league system. But he needed a respite first.<\/p>\n
\u201cI struggled with the last five-ish years \u2014 I wanted to retire when I was 35,\u201d said Votto, who celebrated his 40th birthday during his final season with the Cincinnati Reds in 2023. \u201cI was worn out. Playing hurt wasn\u2019t fun. \u2026 I wanted to finish off my career because I viewed it as a responsibility to myself. But I just wasn\u2019t having fun, and fun for me was playing well. And I didn\u2019t even feel like I was playing well anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since his retirement, Votto has traveled the world and hasn\u2019t watched much baseball, although he did go to one of the 2025 Tokyo Series games between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs as a fan while he was enrolled at the Tokyo Sushi Academy. He also became a certified yoga instructor and generally lived up to his reputation as the most interesting man in baseball<\/a> \u2014 even while away from it.<\/p>\n Joey Votto on his post-retirement world travels<\/p>\n Jayson Stark<\/p>\n With his NBC gig, he\u2019s getting a toe back into the game. He\u2019s also visited the Reds\u2019 Class-A affiliate in Daytona, Fla.<\/p>\n \u201cI love watching kids, specifically future major-league kids, get better. They\u2019ve got a few kids that legitimately have a chance,\u201d Votto said. \u201cI am not a member of the coaching staff; I am not a member of the organization whatsoever. But they were nice enough to let me through the gate and observe and chat with the kids. And you know, I stayed out of the way.\u201d<\/p>\n Votto said the players didn\u2019t really know who he was, but there are pictures of him on the walls of the clubhouse. That\u2019s not unique, though, Votto said. Before he was a Red, he didn\u2019t realize the history of the team and just how good players like Barry Larkin or Eric Davis were before him.<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t even realize how special they are until you get done with 1,000, 1,500, or 2,000 games and realize you\u2019re playing at 40 years old,\u201d Votto said. \u201cHow the heck did (Larkin) play so well at 40?\u201d<\/p>\n While Votto has visited the team\u2019s minor leaguers, he said he has no interest in coaching, knowing the commitment and hours that coaches put in.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a certain amount of willingness to give up your life that coaches have, a full-on dedication,\u201d he said. \u201cThis NBC responsibility is once a week, and I can always say no.\u201d<\/p>\n Votto\u2019s last season with the Reds was the same year that the team\u2019s current face of the franchise debuted. Votto said he\u2019d heard about Elly De La Cruz as he was coming up through the minors. But he\u2019d heard about plenty of prospects in his time with the Reds, each supposed to be the next big thing. De La Cruz, though, was different up close.<\/p>\n \u201cI had my doubts,\u201d Votto said. \u201cA longer guy, strikeout guy, error-prone guy in the field, reckless on the bases, reckless at the plate. But he just kept putting together really good seasons, and that\u2019s undeniable after a certain point.\u201d<\/p>\n Up close, it wasn\u2019t De La Cruz\u2019s physical tools that impressed Votto, but the intangibles.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that Elly\u2019s best tool probably is his combination of drive and humility. He has that sort of F-you mentality,\u201d Votto said.<\/p>\n While Votto signed two extensions before he was eligible for free agency, he said he\u2019s not surprised De La Cruz has not. During the spring of 2024, De La Cruz was offered an extension that would\u2019ve eclipsed Votto\u2019s 10-year, $225-million deal as the largest in Reds history.<\/p>\n