Joey Votto has officially retired from baseball. One of the absolute best hitters of his era, the former Cincinnati Reds superstar will be remembered fondly for his insane ability to get on base and his warm, vibrant personality.

This past offseason, Votto tried to stick around in MLB with the Toronto Blue Jays, his hometown team. Although he enjoyed representing his home city, he got injured in Spring Training and never appeared in a game for the Jays. The 40-year-old gave it a good last hurrah but has ultimately decided to hang up his cleats for good.

The realization of retirement is really settling in for Votto. He was asked by an Uber driver taking him to Rogers Centre, the Jays' home, if he was a baseball player. He said that he wasn’t.

Joey Votto retires from MLB

For the first time since 2002, when he first got started in the Reds' system, this is the first time Votto can truthfully answer “no” to that question. After breaking the news of his retirement on Instagram, that was his first tweet since May 11, so it obviously gained a lot of traction online.

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Votto played 17 seasons with the Reds, earning the 2010 National League MVP award, six All-Star nominations and a Gold Glove in 2011. The first baseman was the runner-up in the 2008 NL Rookie of the Year race to Geovany Soto and received MVP votes in a total of nine seasons, including three finishes in the top three spots. He led the majors in on-base percentage three times and led the NL four other times. His career ends with a .920 OPS, 2,135 hits, 1,144 RBI and 356 home runs.

There will be a lot of Votto memories for baseball fans to look back fondly on. His first hit being a home run. His 300th homer and 2,000th hit. That time he posted a .474 on-base percentage in 2012, one of the 50 best OBPs over a season in the live-ball era. That time he hit .400 over the second half of the 2016 season. That time he posted a seven-game streak of home runs as a 37-year-old.

Joey Votto lived and breathed baseball during his nearly two-decade MLB career — and he surely still will heading into the next phase of his life. He didn’t want to get playing time for Toronto out of mercy or sheer appreciation, he wanted to earn it. Even though he didn't, he leaves the game with his head held high and an outpouring of love from baseball fans everywhere.