Joey Votto Promises to Respect Umpires in Vow to City

Ejected seven times since 2018, Reds player Joey Votto during post-game comments after Cincinnati's win over Chicago on Tuesday promised to "play the game respectfully" and refrain from future unsporting incidents with umpires.

Votto made the remarks unprompted after the game, although earlier at Wrigley Field, Votto appeared to have made a gesture mimicking a field umpire's check swing call during Votto's at-bat.

Votto spoke of his visits to the Reds' Youth Urban Academy and wanted to make a promise to the children served by the organization: "I’ve been getting into tiffs with umpires of late. There are a few things I don’t really like — breaking or doing damage to equipment, no hustle and no effort, and I don’t like disrespecting or showing up the umpires.

"I want to make a promise to anybody in Cincinnati youth sports that it won’t happen anymore. I want to make that pact with the community. That’s my promise to them, that I will play the game with my heart and play the game respectfully. So now I’m held accountable by my community.”

Votto was not ejected during Tuesday's game and most recently was ejected on July 10, 2021, by Doug Eddings, Votto's second ejection of the season.

Video as follows:

Alternate Link: Votto's postgame comments include message of respect and sportsmanship (CIN)