The Starchives: Flaming bats, gambits and plenty of trophies

Star has followed slugger since his Etobicoke days

- GILBERT NGABO

Joey Votto, who retired this week after a 17-year major-league career, has been a familiar face to Toronto Star readers since he was in high school in 2002.

The Etobicoke native, one of Canada's best baseball players, was a six-time all-star who won the 2010 National League MVP and the Lou Marsh award twice as Canada's top athlete in voting by journalists across the country. (The award, since renamed the Northern Star, is given out annually by the Star).

Toronto Star archives show that Votto's name has appeared in 448 stories in this newspaper. The first time was just a passing mention in an April 12, 2002 article about MLB draft prospects from the GTA. Votto's picture first appeared two months later, carrying a baseball bat on fire, after he was a unanimous choice in the Star's annual feature of the GTA's best high school baseball players in 2002. The story touted him as the city's newest millionaire after he signed his first contract with the Cincinnati Reds, where he eventually spent his entire big-league career.

Here's what was written in some other stories on him that have appeared in the Star

June 25, 2008: Votto returns to his Etobicoke baseball roots after a year and a half in the majors and spends an off-day offering pointers to kids.

In his rookie season, Votto rocketed to fame when he hit three home runs on April 7, to become only the third Canadian major leaguer to do so-joining Larry Walker and Justin Morneau and the first as a rookie. "I expected to play in the big leagues when I was drafted," said Votto, who was selected out of Richview Collegiate by the Reds in the second round, 44th overall, in the 2002 draft. "In the minors, I had some success and... when I was called up, there hasn't been a time when I felt overwhelmed by being here (major leagues), or that I didn't belong here."