After a long drive from Buffalo to Toronto, the next stop that Joey Votto could be taking is at the Baseball Hall of Fame after his retirement. The slugger officially called it a career during the Cincinnati Reds' clash with the Toronto Blue Jays. It would not be fair to say that the decision was unexpected. After all, he did just have his 41st birthday. But, Dana White along with the storied careers of UFC fighters may have impacted his decision

Joey Votto felt that his body could no longer compete at the highest level with the Reds. He did all that he could to convince the Reds to make him play against the Blue Jays in what should have been his final game. However, the managers along with his physical state just did not allow for it to happen. The slugger gladly accepted his fate and even got real with the timing of his retirement, via Bally Sports.

“There's no chess in this game whatsoever. This is a heavyweight fight, there are no tactics involved. Physical trumps everything and physical is not there for me. I'm a big fan of the UFC. I watch fighters that retire at the right time and stay too long. I hear the commentary and the crowd thinking, ‘I just want to make sure that I retire at the right time.' Maybe, I retired too late,” Votto declared.

Joey Votto's time with the Reds before retirement

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To say that this slugger had a legendary career would be an understatement. Votto sits alongside Larry Walker as the only other Canadian superstar with 2,000 hits, 1,000 RBIs, and 300 homers. Throughout that journey, he also notched an NL Most Valuable Player award and six All-Star honors. However, his time with Triple-A Buffalo was just not hitting the same and his run with the Reds continued to be disappointing.

“There were some big moments in Buffalo where I heard groans after some outs. When I was playing for Louisville, dissatisfaction after big situations. This game is faster and I'm not fast. This game is about more dynamic defense, the game has changed over the course of the back quarter of my career. I'm slower and the one thing I can attempt to do is perform offensively. I've been awful for my position. At some point, the writing is on the wall,” he noted.

Age certainly does a catch up to a player no matter how legendary they are whether it's in the MLB or UFC. Hopefully in another timeline, he got to play his final game against the Blue Jays.