By his own estimation, Joey Votto has slowed in his old age.
He figures he was "much more physically gifted" seven years ago, when he won his first Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada's top athlete. He's "85 or 95 per cent" of that player now.
Back then, while still spry, Votto could swing as hard as he liked, as much as he liked and still leap from his bed the next morning.
"Now I just can't do that," Votto said wearily on Tuesday. "But that's all right."
If Votto's "decline" is the baseline for all human beings, we will have to adopt Logan's Run rules – everyone gets purged at 30.
Because in his dotage (34), Votto still managed to put up one of the great statistical seasons in the history of baseball. In recognition of that accomplishment, he won his second Lou Marsh on Tuesday, outstripping cross-country skier Alex Harvey, curler Rachel Homan, freestyle skier Mikaël Kingsbury and NHLer Sidney Crosby.
(A moment should be taken here to acknowledge the underplayed breadth of accomplishment in that group of runners-up – a Canadian becoming the first North American to win the jewel of cross-country skiing, a world championship in the 50-km marathon; a curling skip pulling the trifecta of a world title, a Scotties and Olympic qualification in a single year; a freestyle skier who may be the best ever at what he does; and then Crosby being Crosby.)
Votto's victory over that stellar group would probably not have happened ten years ago, since he won nothing of consequence in 2017. He played on a last-place Cincinnati team. He wasn't given a Silver Slugger or a Gold Glove. New Yankee Giancarlo Stanton narrowly defeated him in National League MVP voting.
Votto continues to be the Susan Lucci of baseball – second- or third-best on most people's ballots. He doesn't expend much effort (or any, really) trying to change their minds.
Votto has the air of a particularly conscientious high-school math teacher – painfully thoughtful, always circling back to clarify himself, leery of giving offence and therefore not willing to say much at all. Especially about himself.
"I feel like it's kind of a cheat code if an athlete does a lot of promotion themselves," Votto said on Tuesday. "What's the word? I guess they advertise themselves. I've never been comfortable with that."
He muddled around for a while longer, trying to sharpen his thoughts, and then stopped abruptly with, "I don't know how to continue that question."
Votto was born and raised in west Toronto. Outside athletic ability, he spent most of his early life as a pleasantly average person.
He got a scholarship to an unremarkable American college, was drafted in an unremarkable spot (44th), was a largely unremarkable minor leaguer, briefly became an unremarkable major-league regular, and then took off.
Only when it really started to matter did Votto begin separating himself from his peers.
With one dip owing to injury, Votto has been close to the most consistent hitter in baseball over the past eight years. What he does best is the thing that matters most – he gets on base.
He does that at a rate that puts him in the Ted Williams/Barry Bonds/Babe Ruth category, which is to say, amidst the very best of all time.
Last year, he did it better than he ever had, leading baseball in on-base percentage, walks and a few other advanced advanced stats that you have to look up before you understand. He was also one of only five players in baseball to appear in all 162 games. Essentially, Votto is a sabermetrician's dreamboat.
He did not win anything in 2017 – something each of the four other finalists could claim for themselves. But since no one player can take the credit for winning in baseball, it follows that no one guy is to blame for losing.
When Votto last won the Lou Marsh in 2010, he had more accolades – an MVP, a Hank Aaron Award, a divisional title. Which is to say, things that were largely out of his control. By objective standards, he was better this year, only with less to show for it.
If there has been any change in the way team-based sports stars are viewed over the last twenty or so years, it is that "winning" matters less when weighing their qualities.
That's partly the statistical revolution, partly changing values, and partly developments in the way sports are viewed. Fans engage more deeply with the intricacies of sports now. They take pride in seeing past the razzmatazz.
So while it may be true that Votto is wasted on the Cincinnati Reds, it can't be said that he is wasted on baseball. He arrived in an era when people were primed to appreciate his skill set.
He is already the best player Canada has ever produced in that sport, topping a small, distinguished list.
One of the many nice things about Votto is that that seems to matter to him.
On Tuesday, he tried to find the words to express his happiness, without seeming to be showing up the men and woman he'd beaten.
That involved a few "verys" – "very big deal," "very proud." He brought up his disappointment at losing out on the MVP.
"In a way, winning this award kind of makes up for that," he said.
As usual, he was far from a consensus choice by the three dozen or so sports media on the Lou Marsh panel.
(For the record, I voted for Harvey in recognition of his historic breakthrough in winter sports' equivalent of sprinting – a discipline of unparalleled purity.)
But that's how Votto rolls. He is the guy no one can agree on, except to acknowledge that whatever he's doing, he does it the right way.
Cathal Kelly