Joey Votto recently hit his first home run of spring training after signing with the Toronto Blue Jays. Votto, who hits left-handed, was “ecstatic” after driving the ball over the left-center field fence, per Keegan Matheson of MLB.com.

“I felt like this was the swing I was chasing,” Votto said. “The pull homers are a bit fake. They’re a bit of an illusion.”

Votto wants to be able to drive the ball up the middle and the other way with authority. Pulling the baseball for a home run is the product of either perfectly sitting on a pitch, a mistake by the pitcher, or simply pure power. Hitting the ball to center or left-center typically means a batter is locked in at the plate, though.

Votto's career statistics reveal how often he hits the ball up the middle, per Baseball Reference. He has hit the ball to center field 53.9 percent of the time during his career. Meanwhile, he's pulled it 26.3 percent of the time and gone to the opposite field at a 19.7 percent rate. That approach has led to a superb .294/.409/.511/.920 slash line… So as tempting as pulling the ball is on a consistent basis, hitters would be smart to follow in Votto's footsteps.

Will Joey Votto impact the Blue Jays in 2024?

Votto, who is from Toronto, is excited to play for his hometown ball club. He had previously spent his entire career with the Cincinnati Reds. Cincinnati ultimately went in a different direction this past offseason, and Votto landed a spring training invite with the Blue Jays.

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Votto is a first baseman, however. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is Toronto's first baseman, and he's going to start of course. Justin Turner can also play the position if necessary. Turner and Guerrero will both receive at-bats at DH as well.

Votto is expected to begin the season in the minor leagues. He could end up being a valuable bat off of Toronto's bench at some point in 2024, or he may receive a big league call-up if someone suffers an injury. The Blue Jays are hoping that everyone stays healthy and that Votto simply performs well enough to earn a bench role.

His spring training home run certainly will not hurt matters. Having a veteran like Votto, even if he doesn't perform at his former All-Star level, can be valuable for a ball club trying to compete.