«I'm really saddened that I wasn't able to make it happen, that I wasn't able to arrive and perform, at the Rogers Centre in a Blue Jays uniform representing the city that I grew up in, the country that I grew up in and my people,» said Votto, who spent his entire 17-year career with the Cincinnati Reds.
«But this isn't my organization. So how can I show up and make it my day, my moment? Here's an at-bat, here's a game, here's a stretch of time. To me, it's disrespectful to the game. I also think it's disrespectful to the paying fans that want to see high-end performance, and I would have given them an awful performance.»