Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sport
Kristen Wong

Joey Votto Homers on First Pitch With Blue Jays, and MLB Fans Are in Awe

Joey Votto Blue Jays MLB Toronto Phillies the Blue Jays Toronto Blue Jays

Joey Votto already is making headlines in his first plate appearance for his hometown team, the Toronto Blue Jays.

Votto, who batted second in the order, homered on the very first pitch he saw in the Blue Jays’ Grapefruit League game against the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday in Clearwater, Fla. The former Cincinnati Reds slugger connected on a fastball from the Phillies’ Zack Wheeler to give Toronto a 1—0 lead in the first inning.

The ball traveled 392 feet and appeared to bounce off the top of the wall back onto the field. Although the Phillies argued the hit shouldn’t have been ruled a home run, the call stood because there were no replay challenges in the exhibition game.

MLB fans and pundits couldn’t get enough of Votto’s first homer as a Blue Jay.

It was Votto’s lone at-bat for the day, as the 40-year-old first baseman rolled his right ankle in the dugout and was replaced by Glenn Santiago in the second inning.

Votto signed a minor-league contract with the Blue Jays on March 8 after playing his first 17 MLB seasons with the Cincinnati Reds. The former NL MVP has a career .294 batting average with 356 homers and 1,144 RBIs.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
The ‘choking game’ and other challenges amplified by social media can come with deadly consequences
The “choking game” has potentially deadly consequences, as players are challenged to temporarily strangle themselves by restricting oxygen to the brain. It sounds terrifying, but rough estimates suggest that about 10% of U.S. teenagers may have played this type of game at least once.
The Conversation
The Conversation
Takeaways from AP’s reporting on young nuns
Fewer than 1% of nuns in the U.S. today are under 30
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
A hygrometer is an affordable HVAC-approved tool that can save your home from condensation, mold, and high-energy bills
This simple tool can save you a world of trouble, HVAC experts claim
Homes & Gardens
Homes & Gardens
In the Bible, angels can be deadly. So why do we place them at the top of our Christmas trees?
Those beautiful white and gold angels you see on Christmas trees were originally monsters. At least, that is the claim made by scholar Esther Hamori in her book God’s Monsters. Hamori writes that angels “have acquired the soft-edged glow of a Hallmark card, but are some of the deadliest shapeshifters…
The Conversation
The Conversation
Usyk and Fury engage in spiky stare-off before Riyadh heavyweight showdown
Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury came face to face at a press conference in Riyadh before they heavyweight title bout on Saturday
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
The most outrageous purchases in 2024
Some of us were pretty loose with the purse strings this year
Salon
Salon
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.
Download on the AppStore Get it on Google Play