Joey Votto opens up on anxiety following father's death

[Chip R]

Maybe he'll change his intro from "Paint It Black" to "Happy"

Well, Pharrell has been seen wearing a Mountie hat.

I heard the interview on my way home from work the other day. I have seen, from time to time, people use this to criticize Votto as being "mentally weak." I would implore those people to think again and realize how mentally tough he had to be to fight through the depression and the anxiety to not just get through every day but to play baseball at that kind of level while going through that. He also had and has to overcome the perception that athletes - and men in general - have to hide those kind of emotions.

[vaticanplum]

Love Votto, love this, love that we have evolved so much as a society that this invokes celebration and empathy on a sports message board.

He is amazing. All around, as a player and a human, I'm not sure there's a player in baseball I'd rather have on my team.

[traderumor]

Something this reminds me of is that Joey would most likely give up his entire contract, his status as a top 10 hitter in the game, and every other achievement if he could go home today and talk to his dad. It is most sad that his father did not get to enjoy his son's career.

I lost my father 4 years ago and relish that he was alive to see all of my children, that we got to attend an Opening Day together, that he got to coach a couple of my teams, that he was proud of me......well, selfishly, that last one means more than anything, that he was proud of me. And I am proud of him, saw him live his last year courageously, humbly, and unselfishly. And he left my mom in a good financial position, had her taken care of.

And I'm sure Joey knows that his dad left this world proud of him.

[RedFanAlways1966]

... people use this to criticize Votto as being "mentally weak."

Kind of people that need a good butt kicking. Violence solves nothing of course, but sometimes the brain wants to do it to these types lol. Makes me think of a story my late grandfather told me about wife-beaters back in the 1940s-1960s. The police would pick up the "tough guy". They did not take him to jail. They took him under the 3rd street bridge in downtown Dayton. After they got done giving him what he gave his wife they'd take his pathetic self back home. As they dropped him off they let him know that the next time they came here he might not be so lucky. Most of the time they never had to come back.

[RedsManRick]

Kind of people that need a good butt kicking. Violence solves nothing of course, but sometimes the brain wants to do it to these types lol. Makes me think of a story my late grandfather told me about wife-beaters back in the 1940s-1960s. The police would pick up the "tough guy". They did not take him to jail. They took him under the 3rd street bridge in downtown Dayton. After they got done giving him what he gave his wife they'd take his pathetic self back home. As they dropped him off they let him know that the next time they came here he might not be so lucky. Most of the time they never had to come back.

I'm confused. Does violence solve wife-beating or solve nothing?

[RedFanAlways1966]

I'm confused. Does violence solve wife-beating or solve nothing?

No confusion necessary. Just an old story.

[Chip R]

Kind of people that need a good butt kicking. Violence solves nothing of course, but sometimes the brain wants to do it to these types lol. Makes me think of a story my late grandfather told me about wife-beaters back in the 1940s-1960s. The police would pick up the "tough guy". They did not take him to jail. They took him under the 3rd street bridge in downtown Dayton. After they got done giving him what he gave his wife they'd take his pathetic self back home. As they dropped him off they let him know that the next time they came here he might not be so lucky. Most of the time they never had to come back.

"No half-measures."