Joey Votto is my new role model
If you’ve read these pages during the last decade you probably noticed I’m a massive fan of the Chicago Cubs. I’ve been going to baseball games at Wrigley Field since 1960. When I wasn’t there, I was watching on good old WGN. Even when I lived in California, I always went to see the Cubs whenever they played the Dodgers or the Padres. My trips back home to Chicago were usually planned around the Cubs’ schedule.
Now that my fandom has been established, let’s move into the present.
This week the Cubs have been playing the Cincinnati Reds. It was a big four-game series. The Reds have been in first place and the Cubs needed to beat them to edge closer to real playoff contention. While the Cubs did win three out of the four games, that wasn’t my main takeaway from the series. I focused a lot of my time watching Cincinnati first baseman Joey Votto.
If you aren’t familiar with him, here are a few of his stats. He’s been a regular for the Reds since 2008. He has more than 2100 hits, 353 home runs, and his on-base percentage is a more than impressive .411. I think he’s headed for the Hall of Fame, but we’ll have to wait another decade to find that out.
But, all that aside, I found out this week that we unfortunately have something in common. We both have had rotator cuff/bicep repair surgery. Votto’s was done last August and he was only able to return to play in June. When I did the math, it came to a ten-month recovery. Since I am only one month into my recovery, that number was more than a little depressing. It led to this conversation yesterday with my ortho surgeon, who also works with professional sports teams:
H: I saw Joey Votto had the same surgery as me. It took him ten months to recover. He’s thirty years younger than me, is a professional athlete, and has personal trainers and daily access to the Red’s medical team. If it took him ten months to recover, how many years am I looking at?
Dr.N: (laughing) Are you going to be playing first base for any major league team? Hell, I know you well enough that you won’t even be playing for a softball team. We just want to make sure you have a full range of motion. Being able to help your girlfriend bring in the groceries is a good goal in the next five months.
Well, damn! There goes my dream of being to first seventy-year-old to play in the major leagues. Way to put the kibosh on that. Killjoy! But, seriously, five months doesn’t sound too bad. I can deal with this through the end of the year. I don’t have much of a choice, do I?
Still, I’ll be watching Joey Votto closely to see how his injury affects his baseball playing. Although he’s only hitting .216, he does have eleven home runs in less than two months, including two the other night against the Cubs. Not too bad for a thirty-nine-year-old with a bad shoulder and bicep.
I’m off to do some arm exercises and ice my arm. Hmmm…I wonder if Joey Votto had to push a towel across a table?