Joey Votto Is A Hall Of Famer

Joey Votto has seen a legit resurgence in 2021. The 37-year-old first baseman has seen an absolute power surge this season. Now in fairness, Joey Votto is one of those players who's never really been lousy. Outside of the 54 games he played during the Covid year last year in which he put up a -0.1 bWAR, Votto has been remarkably consistent throughout his career. It seems like every time he gets hot, you hear those whispers from people asking the question, "Is Joey Votto a Hall of Famer?" This is baffling to me. The question itself doesn't baffle me, but the debate does. Joey Votto is a Hall of Famer, period. Joey Votto's one of the greatest players of his generation. While I understand that he may lack the flash or pop that first basemen from his age like Miguel Cabrera or Albert Pujols have had, he's been about as consistent as any hitter in baseball over the last decade and a half. He's led the National League in walks five times, on-base percentage seven times, slugging percentage once, and OPS twice. He's won an MVP, he's won a Gold Glove, and he's finished in the top five in MVP voting three times. He's currently rocking a career rWAR of 63.1, and that's trending upward because if this year is any indication, it seems like Joey Votto still has a few more excellent years left in him. Keep in mind that future first ballot Hall Of Famer Miguel Cabrera currently has a career WAR of 69. 

I understand that Hall of Fame voting is a weird thing nowadays. A lot of voters seem to have a lot of strange ground rules. People say stuff like, "If you have to think about it, it means that they're not a Hall of Famer." That's complete nonsense. The fact is, we live in an age of analytics and numbers. And Joey Votto's numbers, especially compared to some of the premier players of his generation, reflect the fact that he is absolutely a Hall of Famer. It's fair to say that he probably lacks some signature moments and signature accomplishments. He's not going to hit 500 home runs, and he's probably not going to make a deep run into the postseason unless the Reds do something incredible over the last several years, which I would love to see. He's been a relatively quiet superstar, but he's been a superstar nonetheless. He has a higher career OPS and OPS+ than Miguel Cabrera and Albert Pujols, two guaranteed Hall Of Famers. No matter what happens the rest of the way, Votto belongs in Cooperstown.