This isn’t a Steve Bartman story, although that’s the name that will most likely come to mind for baseball fans. It’s actually the anti-Steve Bartman story. It’s about Joey Votto and a fan getting tangled together in pursuit of a baseball. It’s about forgiveness, owning a mistake and looking for decorum rather than setting off dynamite.
It started with conflict and ended with a smile — an arc we need more of in this world.
In the seventh inning of Tuesday night’s Cincinnati Reds game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Votto tracked a foul ball toward the stands beyond first base. There, he reached into the crowd in hopes of catching the ball and getting an out. There, he came face-to-face with a fan named Randy. Neither of them caught the ball and when Votto realized it had slipped through his grasp he was very obviously angry.
So he looked down at Randy, seeing his Reds jersey, grabbed it and flicked it as if to say, “You’re a Reds fan, don’t get in my way.”
If the story ended there, it might be another moment to add to the list in Votto’s playful heel turn. He’s taken pleasure this season in razzing fans by stomping out paper airplanes and faking them out with souvenir baseballs.
But this was different. Votto wasn’t playing the part. He was actually upset and when he realized how he acted, he was even more remorseful. So, he did something we probably don’t see enough of these days: He admitted his mistake, apologized and tried to make it right.
He went over to Randy, talked to him, took a picture and gave him an autographed baseball that read: “Thanks for being so understanding when I acted out of character.”
 | @MLBONFOX | |
This is awesome. Joey Votto signs a ball with an apology for a fan who he interacted with on a foul ball. #MLBonFS1 pic.twitter.com/h7glbaTRfg
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After the game, Votto was even more critical of himself, characterizing his actions as “bullying” and saying he needed to treat Randy with more respect. Here’s what he told reporters:
“He was generous enough to apologize at the time and afterward. In retrospect, he’s not the one that should be apologizing. I should be apologizing. He’s just trying to catch a ball and here I am bullying him. In that instance, I don’t feel a responsibility to be some sort of example or anything like that. But I do feel like treating my fellow man with respect. I was in the wrong completely there. I was certainly regretful. He was forgiving and I would like to think all is good.”
Bravo to Votto for admitting his own misstep when he easily could have made an excuse or passed blame and gotten a pass. But he didn’t. He recognized that he made another person feel smaller than him and sent a good message to humans everywhere — treating people with respect is always better than treating them like enemies.
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